French Cycling: A Social and Cultural History: 23 (Contemporary French and Francophone Cultures) - Tapa dura

'This book is undoubtedly the best English-language introduction to French cycling and the Tour de France. It provides a `quick and necessary' overview, in the words of the author, of the discipline in France since the second half of the nineteenth century.' Patrick Gaboriau and Philippe Gaboriau, French History 'Experts will acknowledge the scholarship and enthusiasts will enjoy an academic work which is both accessible and a really good read. Honoured by the French Education Ministry in 2003 with his appointment as Chevalier dans l'ordre des Palmes academiques, Hugh Dauncey brilliantly continues his distinguished vocation of doing great service to French culture and this book confirms his reputation as an authority on the practice of cycling in France.' European Studies in Sports History 'Dauncey ties together French cycling's diversity of historical experiences and trends into a single, compelling volume.' Contemporary French Civilization * Contemporary French Civilization 39.1 * 'This fascinating history will be required reading not simply for sports specialists, but for anyone interested in the social and cultural manifestations of France's most emblematic form of personal mobility.' French Studies 'Hugh Dauncey is to be commended for taking on such an ambitious project and for the impressive range of subjects that he integrates into his engaging and informative history of French cycling in all its forms.' H-France Review Reviews'The style of writing is clear and accessible to a reader new to the subject, but the multiple dimensions of this work mean that even those readers with specialist knowledge of one kind or another are likely to find much of interest.' Edward Nye

French Cycling: a Social and Cultural History aims to provide a balanced and detailed analytical survey of the complex leisure activity, sport, and industry that is cycling in France. Identifying key events, practices, stakeholders and institutions in the history of French cycling, the volume presents an interdisciplinary analysis of how cycling has been significant in French society and culture since the late Nineteenth century. Cycling as Leisure is considered through reference to the adoption of the bicycle as an instrument of tourism and emancipation by women in the 1880s, for example, or by study of the development in the 1990s of long-distance tourist cycle routes. Cycling as Sport and its attendant dimensions of amateurism/professionalism, national identity, the body and doping, and other issues is investigated through study of the history of the Tour de France, the track-racing organised at the Velodrome d'hiver in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s and other emblematic events. Cycling as Industry and economic activity is considered through an assessment of how cycling firms have contributed to technological innovation at various junctures in France's economic development. Cycling and the Media is investigated through analysis of how cyclesport has contributed to developments in the French press (in early decades) but also to new trends in television and radio coverage of sports events. Based on a very wide range of primary and secondary sources, the volume aims to present in clear language an explanation of the varied significance of cycling in France over the last hundred years. An Open Access edition of this work is available on the OAPEN Library.