Life Is a Wheel: Love, Death, Etc., and a Bike Ride Across America - Hardcover

Bruce Weber, a reporter for The New York Times, began his career in publishing as a fiction editor at Esquire. He has written for numerous publications and is the author of the New York Times bestseller As They See ’Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires, coauthor (with Savion Glover) of Savion! My Life in Tap, and the editor of Look Who’s Talking: An Anthology of Voices in the Modern American Short Story.

“Life Is a Wheel is a book for cyclists, certainly, and for anyone who has ever dreamed of such transcontinental travels. But it also should prove enlightening, soul-stirring, even, to those who don't care a whit about bikes but who care about the way people connect - strangers, friends, parents and children, lovers.” Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

“Mr. Weber’s writing style, straightforward, unexaggerated and conversational, has an understated tone that recalls Hemingway more than Beckett: He rations his emotions, which makes the impact strong when he reveals grief, loneliness or fear... [He] manages to be both expressive and enigmatic, inclusive and solitary — a rider in the world, coasting through the landscape, sometimes participating, always observing.” Source: New York Times

“This delightful book is sure to appeal to cyclists who may harbor dreams of pedaling from coast to coast. But any reader simply looking for a well-written and entertaining travel story filled with insightful thoughts about life, family and aging will not be disappointed.” Source: The Associated Press

“Riding a bike across the country is hard work; doing it at age 57 when, as Bruce Weber writes, his body was “both perfectly healthy and falling apart,” sounds either foolish or heroic. In this lovely account, Weber manages to avoid both, focusing instead on the beauty of the country he passed through...the kindness of the people he met, and his own musings on life, love, and death... Readers will enjoy going there with him.” Source: The Boston Globe

"This title is his witty travelogue, his reflective road journal, and a vivid testament to the beauty of a journey made on two wheels. Perfect for fans of Billy Bryson’s travel writing or books such as Jim Malusa’s Into Thick Air: Biking to the Bellybutton of Six Continents and Paul Howard’s Eat, Sleep, Ride: How I Braved Bears, Badlands, and Big Breakfasts in My Quest to Cycle the Tour Divide, this title is a cross-country trip every reader can enjoy. VERDICT: Weber’s journey is sure to inspire readers to roll their old bikes out of the shed and plan an epic trek of their own." Source: Library Journal

“Weber's trip – and his thoughts – are distilled into a read that is both entertaining and thoughtful.” Source: Christian Science Monitor, 10 Best Books of March

“Weber’s memoir has an air to it that reminds me of Richard Ford’s novel “The Sportswriter”... Looking back, looking forward, making sense of what we face now. Or as he says as he pedals a stationary bike back in his gym after his trip, ‘the present is where you want to be. Never wish away distance. Never wish away time.’” Source: The Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Weber never fails to entertain, and his compulsion to always move forward despite the weight of the past is as inspiring as his astounding cycling achievement." Source: Publisher's Weekly

“Weber’s pedalogue is a one-word case study of highs and lows: Gulp. Damn. Yikes! So... Whew! Ommmmmm. Arrrrgh. Ha! Sigh. Cool! Yikes! Arrgh. Whoa!” Source: The Charlotte Observer

“Cover to cover this book is a great ride. Bruce Weber is an entertaining and absorbing travel companion and in Life is a Wheel he pulls off a master storyteller’s trick. He gives us a very personal journey that resonates on every page as part of the universal journey we’re all on. It’s great writing and reading.” Author: Michael Connelly