At the height of the Jim Crow era, Taylor broke barriers by becoming the country’s fastest and most famous cyclist. Author and ‘Washington Post’ journalist Michael Kranish tells his story in the new book, ‘The World’s Fastest Man.’ “He really belongs in the pantheon of civil rights leaders as a sports athlete,” Kranish says. “He was able to use his athleticism and his championships for a greater purpose to show that the racist theories of eugenics and other things were wrong.”

Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan recommends two new noir suspense novels for summer — ‘This Storm’ by James Ellroy and ‘Conviction’ by Denise Mina. And Ken Tucker reviews Willie Nelson’s new album ‘Ride Me Back Home.‘