Motorized Obsessions: Life, Liberty, and the Small-Bore Engine by Paul R. Josephson

Abstract

124 MichiganHistoricalReview they closed themill. I just couldn't believe it. . . .Boxes and boxes of our history.Why didn't they leave ithere" (p. 117)? Although CorporateWasteland would benefit from a formal conclusion drawing the oral histories and earlier discussions of the culture and aesthetics of deindustrialization together, this book is a timely contribution to thehistory of deindustrialization andmidwestern regional history. In addition, the bibliography and notes following the textprovide a good introduction to the literature associated with deindustrialization. What High and Lewis recognize is thatwhile change is inevitable, progress is not. Rather, progress is determined bywhat direction change takes, and this is the question at the core of CorporateWasteland. Will we continue to allow corporate and finance capitalism to use up and desert people and places, leaving environmental and employment wastelands in their wake? Or will we at least attempt to regulate thenature and direction of change toward a greater common good? Significandy, today's economic crises indicate thatmembers of themiddle class are not as far removed from the vulnerability of theAmerican and Canadian industrial laborers documented by High and Lewis in CorporateWasteland as their historical memory and understanding might indicate. Pamela C. Edwards Shepherd University Shepherdstown, West Virginia Paul R. Josephson. Motorized Obsessions:Ufe, Liberty, and theSmall-bore Engine. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007. Pp. 258. Appendix. Index. Notes. Cloth, $22.00. Paul R. Josephson's wide-ranging history of small-bore engines explores the environmental and public-health effects associated with the technology used to power these engines. Josephson's original interest in both nature and technology encouraged him to examine how all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and personal watercraft (PWCs) and other types of motorized recreation have changed over time, leading to Americans' obsession with these gadgets and vehicles. PWCs include Jet Skis, ATVs encompass Off-Highway Vehicles (OHVs), and Off-Road Vehicles (ORVs) comprise dirt bikes, motorcycles, jeeps, and dune buggies. Motorized Obsessions describes how small-bore engines powering everything from lawnmowers to recreational vehicles can not only bring disorder to the ecosystem but also injure people. Josephson suggests that Book Reviews125 starting from small beginnings in the early twentieth century, recreational vehicles "have become a fixture of theAmerican lifestyle" (p. 1). The author recalls the history and development of earlymodels of motorized vehicles. For example, as early as 1934 much larger and slower snowmobiles than the ones produced today were invented to provide needed transportation in the winter. By the 1970s and 1980s, the production ofATVs foruse in the desert or on ranches expanded quickly. Josephson also connects higher education with the development of recreational vehicles. In 2005 university students from theUnited States and Canada competed at the Clean Snowmobile Challenge held at Michigan Technological University to design and build "a clean, quiet, high performance snowmobile" (p. 52). Recendy the Society of Automotive Engineers encouraged Michigan Tech to continue its efforts. Josephson relates the story of David Johnson and Ed Hinteen of Minnesota and J.A. Bombardier of Quebec Province as theyattempted to develop a motorized vehicle (p. 35). These three men envisioned a snowmobile that would end the isolation of thewinter months and facilitate emergency response. Bombardier's inspiration to create such a snowmobile developed afterhis son died when he could not receive needed medical care during the winter. Although early snowmobile improvements were designed formachines used in remote rural settings, these vehicles became more widely available as an alternativemeans ofwinter transportation. Josephson suggests that improvements in snowmobile technology spread to encompass motorized recreation vehicles and were often prompted by environmental concerns. Coupled with increased American prosperity and new marketing schemes, these changes helped transform suchmachines into vehicles used for leisure and amusement. By the late 1960s, motorized recreation became a year-round activity for those who could afford it and began to negatively affect diverse ecosystems. Woodlands, grasslands, arid regions, as well as beachfront environments were transformed by the invasion of ATVs and PWCs. Motorized recreation vehicles ruined vegetation, disturbed animals and birds, and caused severe soil erosion. In addition to environmental damage, Josephson also reviews medical journals to explain how ATVs and PWCs negatively affect public health. Motorized Obsessions highlights thework of numerous local, state, and federal agencies monitoring ATVs and...