Rating: 
Summary: Angry Young Socialist on a Bicycle
Review: This book is a real dichotomy, and hard to review for me. On the one hand, Culley is masterful at describing the battles of the bike messenger... the epic journeys through a vibrant, pulsating city. The riding narratives are fantastic... some of the best I've read. His colorful descriptions of the daily battles they face really make me empathize with the messengers.On the other hand, the socialist politics and the 'me vs. The World' mentality gets old after a couple of chapters. The author seems to indicate that it is a crime to own a house in the 'burbs, but would think nothing of smashing out the headlights of a car that makes him nervous. The seemingly endless diatribes on the evils of automobiles and the 'White Suburban Republicans in their SUV's' whose only mission, according to Culley, is to destroy everything that keeps them from 'Making Time' really damage the flow of the story. A great book for those with a deep interest in urban cycling or militant activists. For me, though, an activist works with other road users to iron out ways all parties can use the infrastructure. A fun read at times, but not worth the anger quotient.
Rating: 
Summary: The accolades are not deserved
Review: To me, the title is completely wrong. Yeah, a lot of the book is about messengering, and all that comes with it. But the book is much bigger than that. To me it was about the love affair with the bicycle, and how that love can make you wanting more from life, and from our cities. Culley captures that love more than anything I have ever read.
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