After taking over the family rubber business, Edouard Michelin's striking innovation, in 1891, was a removable pneumatic bicycle tyre. This idea, together with brother André's marketing genius, was the foundation of a phenomenal rise in the company's fortunes. This highly readable history tells the story of how the two brothers' groundbreaking efforts built a global empire and helped to create a tourist industry around motoring with their famous Michelin guides and maps. Off-mint.