Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Man Who Rode His 10-Speed Bicycle to The Moon

I was attracted to this book by Bernard Fischman because of its whimsical illustrations and its unique size. The edging of the paper itself is unusual—a teal color that matches the color of the water on the cover. The book is all of 100 pages, yet it's an account of a lonely man who rides his bicycle around the streets of New York City and discovers he is truly not alone and that bicycles are often magical transportation. It is a sweetly written story, one that left me with an urge to locate more of Bernard Fischman's writing, but it appears that this is his only work.

The Man Who Rode His 10-Speed Bicycle to The Moon is hardcover, copyright 1979.

4 comments:

  1. I had the pleasure of knowing Bernie Fischman, as he was a neighbor of my father. They were friends until Bernie's death in 2007. He was a fascinating, multi-faceted man, and I wasn't even aware he'd written a book until after his passing. As far as I've been able to determine, this was his only published work.

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  2. Thank you, thank you for your warm thoughts and comments. I wondered about Bernie because this book was so beautifully written and the drawings so delightful that I wanted to read more of his work.

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  3. Too funny you wrote a post about this book I discovered it a few years ago because, well I'm an old 10 speed nut and its sat on my shelf, I need to blow the dust off and read it now

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  4. I read this book after compulsively buying it and a clearance sale back in 1980. A love prose to read and a true joy to travel these pages. I tried to contact Mr Fischman back in 2007 but alas, he had passed. I was able to track down his publishing and copywriting agent to try to learn more about the man who wrote it, and what his inspiration was. I was able to get in contact with her, Barbra was her name if memory serves. She spoke very highly of Mr Fischman affectionately referring to him as "Bernie". She recounted how much fun it was to work with him and how "Splashy" the book was received upon publication. She was also the one who told me the he had passed. Good read for a commute to work, and day dreaming.

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