I liked the narrator. The reading was clear.

The book, though, was a bit of a disappointment. It was much more about the automobile than motion in general. I was hoping to read about ships, subways, trains, and other means of transportation, but this is much more limited in its scope. The title and summary don't accurately describe the book.

The book relates the history of the automobile as subject of motion. It starts with the wheel to the smartphone. It covers all the themes related to cars such as the development of society that had to adapt and even create new rules such as traffic rules and so on.

3.5 stars. This was an interesting listen. I do like listening to nonfiction reads every now and then and this is good.

It was so interesting to learn about how our mobility changed civilization so much. I found myself going oh yeah, that makes sense, that’s true, huh, and I didn’t realize that but I should’ve. So much about how we move ourselves can be related to other subjects like economics, engineering, and history to name a few.

Thanks Tantor Audio and NetGalley. Enjoyed this one.

Interesting and entertaining pop-history (pop-techno history?) that on the whole feels a little lightweight. That said, there was a lot of good history around the development of the automobile, and I especially enjoyed the sections talking about why the internal combustion engine won out over its steam and electrical rivals. There wasn't much of an organizing theme, but the chapters were written in a breezy style that was fun to read.

I really liked this book overall, it was my first one read by this author and now I want to go read his other work. For a non-fiction book it is generally hard not to feel as "info-dump" but this one did not give me such feeling. The narration was also very good.

Tom Standage is back with another concise, fun history book. This time we delve into the history of wheeled transport, with the heart of the book discussing the evolution of the modern automobile, what it has meant for societies around the world, and what may come after it.

The first part of the book gives us an overview of what came before the modern car - highlighting wheels themselves (not considered exceptionally useful for a long, long time), then chariots, carts and coaches. This is followed by several interesting stories of early rail innovations.

After that we jump into the story of the rise of the automobile, and so we spend the rest of the book from the 1880s until today. Did you know that the first person to drive an automobile over a long distance, proving that cars could be put to practical use, was a woman? Did you know that the Model T, the most popular car of it's day, was not only the car that made the Ford Motor Company, but also, because of Henry Ford's stubborn reluctance to make major changes to his lineup of offerings, led to the company's declining fortunes in the face of upstart rival General Motors? Those are just a few of the stories Standage covers in this part of the book.

Finally, the book finishes off with a discussion of how the automobile is currently transforming, including discussion of electric vehicles, self driving cars and alternate forms of ownership and ways of consuming "rides", whether on four wheels or two.

As a child of the US heartland - Michigan in particular - cars, car manufacturing, and car culture are something I grew up surrounded with. So for me this book was an enjoyable journey through many stories and tidbits I was already mostly familiar with. I think that others not so familiar would still find this book of interest.

I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who may be interested in quick history of the automobile. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Liam Gerrard, who did an exceptional job. I rate Tom Standage's A Brief History of Motion Three Stars ⭐⭐⭐.

Thanks Netgalley and pubplishers Tantor Audio for an audio book. It was inreresting to listen to this book. I imagined a whole different book, more tehnical. But it was interesting to listen about the using of thr wheels and the development. What brings with it and what are the changes. I was never thinking about horses and the the eveloment of the transporting. A lot of social aspects are well represented.