Highlights Archives
New from WHS Press: Harley and the Davidsons
On a summer day in Milwaukee in 1891, 10-year-old Arthur Davidson and his best friend Bill Harley imagined a bicycle that could zoom up hills and get them around more quickly. Little did they know that in 20 years, this dream would make them the stuff of legend. With grit, determination, and not a little elbow grease, Bill Harley and the Davidson brothers — Arthur, William and Walter — created a motorcycle that was more powerful and more popular than any other machine on the road.
 Cover of Harley and the Davidsons: Motorcycle Legends In Harley and the Davidsons: Motorcycle Legends, the newest title from Wisconsin Historical Society Press, author Pete Barnes tells the story of four young inventors who shared a dream: to create the best motorized bicycle in America. Their turn-of-the-century aspirations took them from a backyard machine shop to a highly successful business empire, all in the span of just a few years. Using their engineering and machine-shop expertise, Harley and the Davidsons worked to continually perfect their designs and to present the best possible products to the American public. Along the way they made their mark on the racing circuit and introduced safety measures that continue to this day. After their deaths, their sons and daughters carried on this legacy, buying back the company after it changed hands and re-establishing Harley-Davidson as the king of the motorcycle world. From the old Knucklehead, Panhead and Shovelhead motors to the Evolution, Revolution and Twin Cam engines that followed, the story of Harley and the Davidsons remains one of the great success stories of the 20th century.
Harley and the Davidsons is the newest title in the Badger Biographies Series, a series of books designed to help upper-elementary and middle-school readers explore the stories of real Wisconsin people. Visit the Wisconsin Historical Museum Shop to order this and other publications from the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.
:: Posted January 22, 2007
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