The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
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4.1 • 96 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Written by Martin Luther King, Jr. himself, this astounding autobiography brings to life a remarkable man changed the world —and still inspires the desires, hopes, and dreams of us all.
Martin Luther King: the child and student who rebelled against segregation. The dedicated minister who questioned the depths of his faith and the limits of his wisdom. The loving husband and father who sought to balance his family’s needs with those of a growing, nationwide movement. And to most of us today, the world-famous leader who was fired by a vision of equality for people everywhere.
Relevant and insightful, The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. offers King’s seldom disclosed views on some of the world’s greatest and most controversial figures: John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Lyndon B. Johnson, Mahatma Gandhi, and Richard Nixon. It paints a moving portrait of a people, a time, and a nation in the face of powerful change. And it shows how Americans from all walks of life can make a difference if they have the courage to hope for a better future.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The evocative words of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. reverberate powerfully throughout this autobiographical memoir. Editor Clayborne Carson has taken MLK’s essays, letters, speeches, interviews, sermons, and unpublished manuscripts to form this narrative, which covers the civil rights leader’s life from his early years through right before his death on April 4, 1968. We learn how MLK developed his influential philosophy of nonviolent resistance and watch as he builds a nationwide movement that sweeps through the Jim Crow South and the urban centers of the north. (We genuinely had no idea how complicated and intense the logistics were during the buildup to the Birmingham bus boycott!) King’s words are so resonant and vital—they address issues that are all too relevant today. This stunning portrait of a uniquely charismatic man encourages us all to continue the fight.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Carson, director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project and author of A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., has pieced together an incomplete study of King's life by supplementing his extant autobiographies (e.g., Stride Toward Freedom and Where Do We Go from Here) with previously unpublished and published writings, interviews and speeches. If King's rhetorical flourishes and use of the word "negro" sometimes seem outdated, the compilation still offers a concise first-person account of his life from his birth in Atlanta in 1929 to his awakening social consciousness and discovery of the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. History propelled King to center stage in the struggle for black liberation. When Rosa Parks refused to surrender her bus seat in 1955, the "once dormant and quiescent Negro community was now fully awake" and King, along with many others in Montgomery's black community, organized the bus boycott that would launch King into his leadership role in the civil rights movement. The book offers glimpses of King's family life as well a view of famous Americans such as Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X and JFK. (In 1960, King did not feel "there was much difference between Kennedy and Nixon." He writes, "I felt at points that he was so concerned about being President of the United States that he would compromise basic principles.") But what is most evident throughout Carson's study is the moral courage that sustained King and allowed him to inspire a largely peaceful mass movement against segregation in the face of bloody reprisals. FYI: In November, Carol Publishing will release Seventh Child: A Family Memoir of Malcolm X, by his nephew Rodnell P. Collins. ( 230p )
Customer Reviews
Outstanding!
Very insightful and compelling. The details are vivid, as if I was beside MLK. One of the best autobiographies ever told!
Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Inspiring life and sermons and speeches of the man and great civil rights leader, a must read for all high school and college age young people.