This is a book I can recommend without hesitation. It?s an enjoyable book to read, while packing in tons of historical detail. Is it for junior track cyclists? I?d recommend it to anyone who can read adult-level books ? junior high students who like to read will do fine.
Major Taylor is almost like reading three books in one. It has a single story line, but it seemed to set off several lines of thought which I’ll describe separately. You may look at the book differently, but you will certainly learn about an important athlete and about the times he lived in.
Book one is about Major Taylor, the fastest man in track cycling at a time when it was the number one sport in the world. It describes a man who has talent, dedication, and intelligence. He also has the personality to handle extremely difficult social and athletic challenges. He is lucky to be in the right place at the right time more than once, but it?s clear that few people would have done so much with that good luck. His cycling accomplishments are incredible, even before you realize how often things were stacked against him. The book doesn?t stop at describing a cycling phenomenon. You learn about his other interests, his family and friends, and how he deals with success and failure.
Book two is about racism. It follows Taylor’s progress in a time when open racism was widely accepted in many places. Even his supporters were shockingly racist by today’s standards, praising his traits as “typical of his race” and constantly pointing out his “dusky”, “coffee colored”, or “ebony” status. Did I forget to mention that he was black? That wouldn’t have happened in his day. It was a world where attitudes varied radically, not only between Indianapolis, Boston, Paris, and Sydney, but between individuals in a single place. Taylor had good friends who were white, and others who accepted him only for his commercial prospects; others, on and off the track, were openly against him. Taylor was entirely conscious of has status as a pioneer for black rights. At times he could speak openly of his goals; just as often he had to settle for quietly setting an example as one man who could cross the “color line”, even knowing that many others were still barred.
Book three is about the history of cycling, and to some extent of all professional sports. Many modern ideas dealing with race promotion, sponsorship, control of sports by national organizations, organization of race series, establishment of world champions, and more were being rapidly developed at this time. Training was also becoming more scientific and more of a year-round necessity. Certainly there were professional athletes for centuries before, and sports continue to evolve, but this was a key period. Reading this book, you find that today?s trade arrangements, deals, and organizational conflicts are nothing new.
Major Taylor, as well as many more reviews of the book, are available at Amazon.
