Les Négresses Vertes Blend French Folk with Rock and World Music

At the height of America's Jim Crow era, Taylor broke barriers by becoming the country's fastest and most famous cyclist. Michael Kranish tells his story in the new book, The World's Fastest Man.

The film Violette is a fictionalized portrait of Violette Leduc, the trailblazing French novelist who was considered difficult. Te strangely gripping movie captures a key moment in feminist history.

Actress Kristin Scott Thomas stars in the drama Sarah's Key, about the French roundup of Jews during the Nazi occupation. "It's something the French have been extremely wary of talking about," she says. "It's been hidden away for a very, very long time."