Major Taylor

Andrew Ritchie, a social and sports historian with a special interest in the early history of the bicycle and early photography, is the author of Bicyle Racing Records: A Statistical History of the Sport. A revised editon of his highly acclaimed social and technical history of cycling, The King of the Road, is forthcoming from Johns Hopkins.

• AcknowledgmentsChapter 1. PrologueChapter 2. Early Guidance and InspirationChapter 3. Bicycle Boom and Jim CrowChapter 4. Precocious Teenager, Colored Champion of AmericaChapter 5. Rising StarChapter 6. New Horizons, New OppositionChapter 7. The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the WorldChapter 8. Champion of America at LastChapter 9. SuperstarChapter 10. World Traveler and International CelebrityChapter 11. Comeback and DeclineChapter 12. Difficult AdjustmentChapter 13. Autobiography and IllnessChapter 14. Chicago TragedyAuthor's PostscriptAbout the PhotographsIllustrations, Picture Sources, and CreditsNotes and SourcesGlossary of Bicycle Racing TerminologyBibliographyIndex

As Andrew Ritchie's excellent biography demonstrates, [Taylor] became a cycling star not only through natural talent. He also had what one might call a force of dignity. -- Tim Hilton Times Literary Supplement A point made by Mr. Ritchie... in this earnest and well-researched study is that Taylor, only the second black after the boxer George Dixon to win a world championship, hardly left a trace that he had passed. -- Samuel Abt New York Times Book Review Member of an oppressed race, hero in a nation with limited historical memory, this man, who had been so well known and whose life was so interesting, has been virtually forgotten. Ritchie's book admirably recaptures the story for us. -- Elliott J. Gorn Journal of American History