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Major: A Black Athlete, a White Era, and the Fight to Be the World's Fastest Human Being | 
 enlarge | Author: Todd Balf
Publisher: Crown
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy New: $13.99
You Save: $10.01 (42%)
New (28) Used (5) from $13.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 85906
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 5.9 x 1.2
ISBN: 0307236587
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.6092
EAN: 9780307236586
ASIN: 0307236587
Publication Date: February 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW HARDCOVER WITH DUST JACKET! (NOT a book club edition) No remainder marks, writing, bends, folds, rips, creases, etc. Usually ships next day
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
At the turn of the 20th century, hundreds of handsome, lightning-fast racers won the hearts and minds of a bicycling-crazed public. Scientists studied them, newspapers glorified them, and millions of dollars in purse money was awarded to them. Major Taylor aimed to be the fastest of them all. A prominent black man at a time when such a thing was deemed scandalous, his mounting victories, high moral virtue, and bulletlike riding style made him a target for ridicule from the press and sabotage by the white riders who shared the track with him.
Taylor’s most formidable and ruthless opponent—a man nicknamed the “Human Engine”—was Floyd McFarland. One man was white, one black; one from a storied Virginia family, the other descended from Kentucky slaves; one celebrated as a hero, one trying to secure his spot in a sport he dominated. The only thing they had in common was the desire to be named the fastest man alive. Their rivalry riveted first America, and then the world. Finally, in 1904, both men headed to Australia for a much-anticipated title match to decide, beyond dispute, who would claim the coveted title.
Major is the gripping story of a superstar nobody saw coming—a classic underdog, aided by an unlikely crew: a disgraced fight promoter, a broken ex-racer, and a poor upstate girl from New York who wanted to be a queen. It is also the account of a fierce rivalry that would become an archetypal tale of white versus black in the 20th century. Most of all, it is the tale of our nation’s first black sports celebrity—a man who transcended the handicaps of race at the turn of the century to reach the stratosphere of fame.
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| Customer Reviews:
Good history, questionable editorializing April 30, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I found the book to be well written and well-researched from a historical perspective. The book was enlightening, not only regarding cycling history but also cultural history.
The major flaw in the book was in the epilogue regarding the Little 500 bike race at Indiana University. The author made the assumption that the 32 other teams in the Little 500 were protesting because Team Major Taylor had black riders. He did not seem to understand that the protest may have been in regard to a team being added to the race that did not qualify in the time trials thus depriving a qualifying team of a place in the race. Team Major Taylor qualified 6th in the 2008 race and finished 2nd. No protests took place. This was a minor portion of the book, but does cast some doubt that the remainder of the book was as thoroughly researched as it might have been. Was Floyd McFarland as really as bad as the author wrote? Or did the author embellish some of the facts to make a book?
Todd Balf is an excellent writer with remarkable insight. Read the book, skip the epilogue. The author's assessment of early 20th century race relations is insightful; his attempt to extend this to the early 21st century comes up short.
Victorian Fury April 1, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was wandering through the bookstore when this intense yellow cover with a crouched black rider (Marshall "Major" Taylor) caught my eye. I had an idea who Major was -- an early black cyclist -- but had no idea how great and popular he was in his heyday.
The book succeeded for me on several levels. First, Todd Balf has done his historian's work, culling from many sources, including newspapers, period magazines, diaries, etc, to give the reader a deep, balanced view the lost work of 90th century track racing. He begins with the bicycle itself, from its mechanical evolution to its impressive impact on society. Then it is on to racing. I found this world utterly riveting, with such events as the 6 day races in Madison Square Garden, where racers battled one another as well as sleep deprivation over 6 days straight, ending with spectacular crashes, hallucinations, and death, or the match races set against huge grandstands in every major American city, or the speed record attempts where riders would draft behind locomotives or other large machines, often getting crushed in the process. It was a frenetic time, the nexus of Victorian sensibility, the rise of the machine, urbanization, racism, the rise of professional sports.
Out of all this emerges the character of Marshall "Major" Taylor, a black superstar who rises to the pinnacle of the sport. To me Taylor was less interesting than the milieux he was apart of. The author works hard to create a narrative structure of good vs evil, with Taylor on one side and McFarland (his nemesis) and the rest of white America on the other. Although the story is ostensibly true, the author spends too much time stoking this reality for dramatic effect - choosing to make the "Race" issue crackle on every page instead of the issue of the race itself. After a couple of hundred pages Race becomes a shoe the author is beating us over the head with. Also more material should have been drawn from Taylor's autobiography in order to give a richer portrait into the mind of the man. Along this line, after the climax race, the narrative is almost dropped. A gaping hole is left about what Taylor did with the rest of his life after racing.
Overall, the book's strength lies in its vivid depiction of a long-gone era. The climatic race is very cinematic and inspiring. Marshall Taylor emerges as a truly heroic athlete who rightly deserves more notoriety; this books should help remedy his place in the pantheon of sporting legends.
 Great book on early cycling history March 31, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I really enjoyed this book. Major Taylor was the first black sports superstar and he became one in the 1890s. He was admired by his contemporaries like Jack Johnson (first black heavyweight boxing champ). Unlike the other reviewer who apparently just wanted to read a ride report of one of Major's come from behind victories, I liked learning about the other great cyclists of the era, as well as the trainers and promoters.
I was amazed at how modern Major's training regimen was, and at how fast he could ride the bike (not far off today's records). It was also interesting to learn that cycling was perhaps the biggest sport in America for a decade, with 100,000 people seeing a race in New York, for example. Of course, he was riding at a time of unbelievable racism, a time when hundreds of African Americans were being lynched in the South.
Painstakingly researched, the author was able to give the reader a glimpse of life 100+ years ago, and was even able to interview Major's daughter Sydney, who died in 2005 at the age of 101.
Fantastic book of American history and early cycling lore.
 Could have been better. Much better. March 19, 2008
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
Focusing on the career of a supremely gifted athlete in a not-so-distant age of unimaginable racial intolerance, Major attempts to place in context the significant accomplishments of a cyclist whose race was not only against the clock, but against the stiff currents of prejudice, ignorance, and irrational fear.
Unfortunately for me, I just couldn't get past page 85 and a long slow slog of superfluous detail introducing the significant players. What a shame. This is an eight-cylinder story firing on three. The picture of who Major Taylor was, was continually obscured by awkwardly placed and unnecessary references to present day personalities, a self-conscious and repetitive over-emphasis on a racist America that made his life extremely difficult and unpleasant.
I am sure many will find something of value in this book. But for me, as a cyclist, I wanted the unvarnished underdog story. I wanted the visceral, the sweat and struggle of overcoming that would inspire anyone --meaning most of us, who want to achieve against impossible odds and obstacles. If the author hadn't been tripping over his own feet and gotten out of the way, hadn't been trying so hard and left out the kitchen sink, Major Taylor could have been the streamlined powerhouse of a victory story I believe he intended it to be.
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