cocoabeachcrab 

looking to get a book about Major Taylor, but i see several different titles on ebay. can anyone recommend a good one that also has illustrations and portrays not only his story but also the excitement of the race?

alexihnen 

I think the book by Andrew Ritchie is the "definitive" history. That said, I haven't read the Kerber or Kranish books - they both get good reviews. Now that I look, the Kranish book can be had for about $7...so I may pick one up and check it out. My Ritchie book is an older printing but has some nice photos and is a good read.

juvela

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sadly, Andrew Ritchie passed last year

​​​​​​https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...w-ritchie.html


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tcs

Don't overlook the autobiography by the man himself in his own words: The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World (publication date 1928).

bamboobike4

He couldn't get anyone to initially publish it, so he self-published and went door-door selling it. I saw a first edition recently in a museum.

On that topic, the Major Taylor Metric was in Indianapolis this past weekend. It is on my bucket list, and this weekend was very appropriate for the holiday. The St. Louis Regulators went there as a group; as fine a gathering of individual cyclists as you'd ever be privileged to meet. Next year seems a certain go, bucket list item.

cocoabeachcrab 

a few copies are available on ebay, but a bit above my price range! ken burns should do a documentary on him.

miamijim

I restored one of his bikes back around '88 or so....

bamboobike4

I agree. Better him than ESPN.

cocoabeachcrab 

i think he was much more than an athlete... and his story should be told by someone who is an expert at portraying greatness. good ole ken burns does that pretty well!

billytwosheds 

Major Taylor's autobiography is in the public domain now, and is scanned into the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/mdp-3901...65758/mode/2up

rustystrings61 

Major Taylor's autobiography was also reprinted in the '70s in paperback with a yellow cover - I had a copy c.1975 or so and wish I knew what became of it.

I always thought he was one of the greatest athletes of any era as well as being a man worth studying and emulating.

boozergut

Ritchie's book is good. However, reading about the end of Taylor's life was a sad experience.

cocoabeachcrab 

i ordered the kranish book. i need some inspiration!

100bikes

Having read most of the biographies of MT, and actually his autobiography,
I would highly recommend Andrew Ritchie's book.

The best portrayal and informative of the bunch.
(Major Taylors autobiography is a must read as well)

I found the Kerber book a bit light on some of the details and the verse not driving the story forward.

I understand that there is a new biography in the works, to be published in 2023 and am looking forward to reading it.

BTW, I recently purchased a signed copy(with a dust jacket) of the autobiography - the single most expensive book
I have ever purchased! A great addition to my library and a treasured piece of history.

I actually exchanged emails with Andrew Ritchie a couple years ago, regarding the number of copies of the
autobiography were printed- since it was self published at a time when MT finances were minimal.

I also met with Terry Kerber( whose family shopped at my bicycle store) in his office a mile or so from my home,
and asked the same of him, among a more general conversation regarding his book.

Neither Andrew or Terry Kerber knew the answer.

Fast forward to last year, and a bit of digging led me to someone who found that the publisher still had a number of boxes in
their possession(which this person snapped up).

The publisher relayed that their records showed that 2000 copies were printed, While it is unknown how many copied MT
actually handled and sold door to door, my signed copy is pretty good proof- a piece of cycling history for sure.




(photos from the sellers listing)

rusty

tcs

Reprinted again in 2020; also available for Kindle.



50 years before Jackie Robinson 'broke the color barrier' & 25 years before Eric Liddle refused to race on Sundays, there was Major Taylor.

You Tube

Dylansbob 

I forget which book I've read, but it was pretty trippy to hear about him racing out of Indianapolis. I grew up ~60m north of there and was amazed to hear they once raced from Indy to the great bustling metropolis of Matthews, IN. A very small community 10miles outside of Muncie, better known today for it's covered bridge and accompanying festival.

awac

I am reading the book “Le Tour” (Wheatcroft) and on page 12 he mentions that when Henri Desgrange was running the Parc des Princes a track event was organised against French champion Edmond Jacquelin and Major Taylor. Guess who won?

Henri was so insulted he paid Taylor the large prize money in 10 centime coins so that he had to go and get a wheelbarrow to take away his winnings.

Jeez. That man must have had worse than that, but it stunned me. I just hope he insisted on counting every centime slowly before accepting……

Sedgemop 

The trail named after him here in Chicago is short, but links up with other trails and makes for a good ride. Major Taylor memorials and murals are dotted throughout. Also, the apple fritters at nearby Old Fashioned Doughnuts are not to be missed.

https://fpdcc.com/places/trails/major-taylor-trail/

Chicago Al 

There's a Major Taylor cycling club in Chicago, I've seen them on the Lakefront Trail. They appreciate it when the jersey is recognized!

merziac

That is but one of the crappy stories of how he was treated most of the time, many, many horrible accounts that forged him into the titan he truly was.

tcs

merziac