The Life Covers Fascinating History of Harley-Davidson and its Riders

By Eric Rood - January 3, 2019

H-D expert Darwin Holmstrom weaves together the badass history of the iconic motorcycle brand and its fans.

The Life Harley-Davidson opens with Darwin Holmstrom’s childhood anecdote of seeing a pack of roaring Harleys on the open road from the back seat of the family station wagon. It’s the kind of thing that makes lifelong fans of the Harley and its V-twin engine and it’s also the entire basis for his faithful rendering of Harley enthusiasm in The Life.

Holmstrom brings to the Harley-Davidson story his expertise of Americana. In addition to other volumes on the iconic motorcycle maker, he has written extensively about American-built guitars and classic muscle cars. He’s also co-authored Sonny Barger’s Guide to Motorcycling an interestingly useful compendium for bike owners.

With that kind of qualifications, we find no surprise that the Motorbooks senior editor pulled together actor Norman Reedus and veteran motorcycle-magazine editor Dave Nichols for The Life Harley-Davidson’s foreword. Reedus famously rides a Harley in The Walking Dead and has moved on to his own show on AMC.

“For me, motorcycles are linked to my own sense of personal freedom,” Reedus says in the foreword. That sets the tone for The Life, which serves as an explanation of both how the bike maker evolved throughout its history (or didn’t, in some cases) as well as how people embraced Harley-Davidson’s nature.

The Lives

Holmstrom separates the story into four chapters: “The Life Historic,” “The Life Hardware,” “The Life Motorcycle Club,” and “The Pop Culture Life.” While each chapter could, and often has, filled its own 400-page books, Holmstrom covers the important touchstones of each.

From Bill Harley and Art Davidson turning to a beefier custom frame in a world of motorized bicycles to the dark days of the late 1970s in “The Life Historic,” the book captures the Harley-Davidson Motor Company’s story where it matters. Holmstrom also outlines the important models (“The Life Hardware”) and the groups who made Harley (in)famous in “The Life Motorcycle Club.” Finally, he touches on iconic appearances in film, print, and TV with “The Pop Culture Life.”

Ultimately, Darwin Holmstrom hasn’t set out to write The Life Harley-Davidson as a complete history of the bike builder since he already did that. Instead, here he seeks a more artful and entertaining angle. Facts and history hold a large part in this telling, sure, but Holmstrom paints in colorful metaphors and language that give the reader a real sense of how the big American bikes become people’s lives.

If you’ve ever been asked “What’s the appeal of Harleys?” then Holmstrom has written the right volume. The HD enthusiasts will enjoy this hardcover, $30 edition for themselves and then be able to loan it out to non-riders to explain the “Why?” aspect of riding.

The book’s text comes in easily digestible, short sections. Full-page photo spreads and quotes from famous motorcyclists like Hunter S. Thompson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. That makes a quick read of the 240 pages. Most readers should be able to read it cover to cover in an afternoon, but the collected photographs make it worth picking up regularly.