Product Description

A private citizen who transformed the world around him, Martin Luther King, Jr., was arguably the greatest American who ever lived. Now, after more than thirty years, few people understand how truly radical he was. In this groundbreaking examination of the man and his legacy, provocative author, lecturer, and professor Michael Eric Dyson restores King's true vitality and complexity and challenges us to embrace the very contradictions that make King relevant in today's world.Amazon.com Review
Provocative preacher-teacher Michael Eric Dyson, known for his hip-hop-style delivery and encyclopedic intellectual powers, heroically tries to update and examine the true legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. for a glib Generation-X world. Calling I May Not Get There with You a work of "biocriticism," Dyson peels away the superficial image of King the man to reveal a complex human being whose work was far from finished or totally understood. "In the last thirty years we have trapped King in romantic images or frozen his legacy in worship," he writes. "I seek to rescue King from his admirers and deliver him from his foes." To that end, Dyson takes aim at neoconservatives like Shelby Steele, who spin King's multiracial dreams into a right-wing call to end affirmative action, and goes after black militants who thought King was "soft" and overlooked the power of his "black radical Christianity." He also criticizes the government's co-opting of King's philosophy in a holiday, as well as what he calls the King family's well-meaning, but destructive, attempts to protect King's legacy. Dyson forces us to accept King for all of his faults--including plagiarism and womanizing--but more importantly allows us to see a real human being who rose to the height of humanity. --Eugene Holley, Jr. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Flawed
An uneven book marred by bad chapters. For instance Chapter 9 tries to relate King to rappers. Did Dr. King swear and use profanities in his speeches from the pulpit? Also there is overuse of rhetoric, repetitiveness and useless digressions (or rants). Is it necessary to know what Mr. Dyson thinks of Clinton - this is a digression.

Nevertheless there are some good critiques. King did not allow women a proper place in the `movement' - the SCLC. For Dr. King women appeared to be playthings.

Also there is good criticism of King's successors - namely Coretta and family in chapter 13.

Worth reading, but flawed
Michael Eric Dyson intends to reveal the "real" Martin Luther King, Jr., whom he posits was a much more radical figure than he is currently remembered as being. To what extent he has succeeded, and to what extent his argument is colored by his own politics, I am really not competent to say.I do think that his characterization of Shelby Steele's The Content of Our Character: A New Vision of Race In America is inaccurate. One great strength of Dyson's approach is that he understands that communication occurs in a context. So often, I read biographers who examine their subjects' statements as if they were all the result of intensive self-scrutiny, delivered under oath.In fact, without necessarily being dishonest, communication is shaped by its purpose: persuasive people address the audience's concerns, rather than merely expressing their own. Dyson often analyzes King's statements with regard to the intended audience.

I found the book thought-provoking, but somewhat uneven; sometimes I was gripped, other material could only have improved the book by being dropped. Chapter Five, "Black Power", is somewhat vacuous. I was left with the feeling that Black nationalism is an idea that Dyson swears loyalty as proof that he is "authentic," but has little concrete meaning.The contention by Dyson's colleague that begins the chapter, and his response, bears out the suspicion that academics strive to prove the first Grand Duke of Fenwick's contention that yes can be turned into no if one just talks long enough.Personally, I have always thought that Plato, with his Ideals, was the one sitting in a cave looking at shadows, and this is all too abstract for me. I don't really accept Dyson's assumption that freeing Blacks from the ghetto or enhancing Black self-esteem is inconsistent with integration or that Clarence Thomas is the model of an integrated African-American, especially at this stage, let alone that it is King and not George Bush who put him on the Supreme Court.Even if this were a color-blind society, which it is not, all Blacks would be unlikely to all be like Thomas. Dyson holds up the still severely segregated school system as an example of how integration may have cost African-Americans more than they gained "Segregated schools provided a culture of expectation in which black students were taught that they could perform well," and then says, "Studies show that black students in integrated schools complete more years of schooling ... and make higher wages than their segregated peers."The latter sounds more like integration, unfortunately, failed to be successfully enacted, not that it was a bad idea. Worse, the idea of Black Power remains rather nebulous: what does it mean to Dyson, and more to the point, what did it mean to King? If Dyson means this book for non-Black people, he may need to explain more.Dyson's only good point in the chapter is that the Black church, from which King drew so much strength, is the greatest Black institution that has ever existed.

Dyson's later psychobabble (chapter 8) about what King's adulteries meant to him strikes me as equally empty. Personally, I don't have heroes: there are people that I admire for particular accomplishments and traits.I could admire no-one and nothing if I held out for perfection, and I'd have no friends if they were waiting for me to be perfect.So I agree emphatically with Dyson that King's personal misconduct does not negate his enormous public accomplishments. I wish that he had left it at that.

Dyson also takes the opportunity to go off on a tangent about Hip Hop (chapter 9). Hecompiles a long list of similarities between King and Tupac Shakur, but many of them do not rise much above the fact that they were both men and both black, while others involve traits that King considered to be his flaws.As Dyson has repeatedly warned us not to be overly reverential, he might ask whether he elevates Shakur or denigrates King.At several points, Dyson acknowledges the significant point that the difference is that King regretted his less admirable traits and the Hip Hop artists seem to celebrate them, but then he ignores that insight for most of the chapter. The best he seems to be able to come up with is to argue that Hip Hop artists are also angry, but it is what King did with his anger that made him great.

I also wonder about how fair Dyson was to the King family (chapter 12). He mentions in the middle of the chapter that the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was insensitive to the needs of a family with modest means suddenly bereft of its breadwinner.Coretta King's attempts to profit by King's legacy are not systematically reviewed in light of her need to support a family, let alone her desire to create the King Center. King's failure to provide for his family in the event of an early death that he was sure was coming may be seen as a failingto equal his marital infidelities.Dyson is a bit vague about the King family's track record as activists, especially Coretta King, which would give them a bit more moral standing. Still, Dyson raises some very good points about the difference between inheriting copyright and inheriting moral standing. I found this to be one of the most interesting chapters.

Praise, unfortunately, always seems to be briefer than criticism; this is a book worth reading for those contemplating the legacy of King and remembering the distance that we still have to go.Be sure to read the notes, as they often contain a great deal of information, and can be very interesting. The book includes a bibliography and index.

Testify!
I find it very refreshing when a product of multiculturalism throws a wrench in the system and violently turns against his masters.In this provocative (though unsurprisingly silenced) work of pop scholarship college diversity program poster-child and hip hop "expert" Eric Dyson sets to work on deconstructing the white-washed image of Martin Luther King, Jr. that the American left has successfully promoted without opposition for the past four decades.

But wait a minute, Martin Luther King Jr. was an American patriot, someone who was deeply devoted to the ideals of its Founding Fathers and simply wanted to tinker with a few of the more archaic aspects of American society (Jim Crow) so that everyone could at least have a fair shot at the American Dream.I must admit that up until a few months ago I was captured (more like poisoned) by this ridiculous myth, probably more so than most even.The story of King's life seemed so inspiring, who wouldn't want to believe in it?

Turns out pretty much everything taught about MLK in public schools are at best half truths and all of the most hideous aspects of his life go completely unmentioned.As Dyson tells us, the truly radical aspects of King's ideology - such as his close association with the American Communist Party - are silenced specifically to keep African Americans in check.Undoubtedly, but these facts are suppressed specifically to keep suspicious whites in a state of unthinking, unquestioning silence as much as anyone else.Dyson didn't have to dig very much to uncover this information, even King's closest associates and biggest financial backers were Communists.

Dyson also quotes some of King's most damaging speeches and interviews on economics that leave little doubt about what King's larger social and economic objectives actually were."Oh, gee willickers!," the multiculturalist will scream, tearing the hair from his head, "You've got it all wrong - King only promoted the positive aspects of Communism."Well that all depends on just what you think the "positive" aspects of Communism really are.Let's see, King patently endorsed the redistribution of wealth, destruction of the military, labor's seizure of private business, abolition of private property...oh but don't worry, no Gulags!

Predictably the trail of putrid scandal doesn't end there.In what has become a recurring theme amongst American leftists King possessed a voracious and positively uncontrollable appetite for cheap prostitutes.The point in mentioning this type of degenerate behavior at all is so Dyson can tie King's participation in the Civil Rights movement to the anti-objectivity counter-revolution that occurred subsequently thereafter.Here as well King was quite an active critic of the military (not JUST Vietnam), did interviews with pornographic magazines, generally did everything in his power to undermine sensible restraints wherever they existed, and ensured that a whole generation was indoctrinated into loving themselves and living for themselves only.Most important in all of these activities by King were the rumblings of what would later become known as "Affirmative Action."

Dyson of course supports this development unconditionally and who could blame him, he is where he is precisely because King and his predecessors (backed by the Federal Government) were able to intimidate employers, agencies, and universities into adopting certain "hiring policies" favorable to African Americans.Noticably missing however in this book is elaboration on King's despicable intellectual dishonesty and theft (60% of his doctoral thesis at Boston University was stolen from another student) of other people's work throughout the entirety of his career.

The story of "Dr." King is not an entirely uncommon one for political figures and needless to say his story is hardly inspiring.Indeed, it's typical even for the most violent political leaders to take a relatively egalitarian approach in the beginning, only to shed this facade once they start gathering steam in favor of uncompromising authoritarianism.Vladimir Lenin was an outspoken critic of the Czar and railed against the regime for its suppression of political speech, exploitation of the working class, and persecution of ethnic and religious minorities.Well, we all know how that turned out.I seriously doubt that Martin Luther King, Jr. was any different.Just as another reviewer pointed out, if he were alive today I'm sure he'd be right there with Al Sharpton and Jesse falsely accusing random college students of rape, petitioning to get O.J. Simpson reduced bail, and doing anything he possibly could to exacerbate whatever racial tensions still exist in this country.

Why Dyson thinks this new version of King is great for black folks is anyone's guess, frankly I don't care.I'm just glad I don't have to listen to this hippy nonsense anymore and for that I am thankful.

An interesting expose
I agree with Dr. King's message of harmony and peace.At the same time I can appreciate Dyson's exposure of aspects of King's personal life that most authors do not address (an obvious exception is "And the Walls Came Tumbling Down").In a very real sense it leads to questioning Dr. King's sincerity in asking others to value the character of a person and not the color of their skin.Dr. King was an admirable figure in American history; I wouldn't go as far as the author in saying he might be the most important American ever; that's a bit over the top. I've read a lot on the subject; this book is worth reading.

Fascinating
I have always been fascinated with Dr. King as one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century. I love the work that Dr. Dyson did in writing this book, because he is authentic in talking about Dr. King the man - strengths, weaknesses and all - while exposing the myths about him. Being African-American, I can understand why many within our community woud want to scold Dr. Dyson for exposing Dr. King's dirty laundry. I, however, consider it not only essential, but relevant that we talk about the true humanity of our leaders (espcially one as esteemed as Dr. King) to avoid the danger of us elevating them as idols. It is a great reminder that God uses people (albeit flawed people) for magnificent works in a fallen world. This is a great book that I highly recommed!! ... Read more

Product Description

As editor of The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Dr. Clayborne Carson, with the assistance of his staff at Stanford's Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, had access to a variety of documents relating to all aspects of Dr. King's life and career.The encyclopedia provides readers with over 280 entries that offer fresh and engaging insights into Dr. King and the civil rights movement.From their unique familiarity with these materials, they have compiled an encyclopedia offering a fresh and exciting look at the work of Dr. King and the course of the civil rights movement.

Product Description
Throughout the 1950s and 60s, the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., led the Civil Rights movement, inspiring generations of Americans and transforming the future of the United States. In his speeches, Dr. King expressed his hope that one day all people, regardless of race or nationality, would be accepted. His belief that nonviolent protest is the key to democracy and his assertion that all humans are created equal are as timeless and powerful today as they were 30 years ago. This collection includes the text of Dr. King's best-known oration, "I Have a Dream," his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, and "Beyond Vietnam," a compelling argument for ending the ongoing conflict. Each speech has an insightful introduction on the current relevance of Dr. King's words by such renowned defenders of civil rights as Rosa Parks, the Dalai Lama, and Ambassador Andrew Young, among others. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Misleading Product
This book was listed as "New" and was priced at a new price too.It ended up being a very used book straight from the public library including all sorts of stamps and stickers with the name of the library crossed out.It even had the pocket that's used to hold the check out slips.This was going to be a gift for my husband for his library, not very attractive.But the worst part of it all was the customer service. The only way to communicate with this company is through a message posting board on their web site.But the only posts I ever saw were my own.When I did follow the link they sent me in my email account a day or two later I told them of my wishes to return the book.Now, the fun began because they kept wanting to counter offer with discounts first 10% off if I would keep the book, then 20%, when all I wanted was to get my money of $40+, shipping not included and get a NEW book before my husband's birthday. Eventually, I had to get Amazon involved to help resolve this.Any_book responded but only to tell me they would take a few days to deposit my refund after they received the book (again shipping not included). And I was running out of time.

False advertising on this one guys.

Hope this helps someone.It may have been a good experience if they told me it was very used and charged me accordingly. BTW - Amazon has a lifetime limit on how many times you can file a claim against a seller. Use them wisely.

Inspiring work
This is a series of Martin Luther King's best speeches with an introduction (I think 11 total) and it'sa terrific book.More than just a civil rights leader, King also opposes the Vietnam War and praises the leader of newly independent Ghana (formerly a colony of the british empire). The theme King hits is freedom. My only difference with King is that he's ultrareligious and I'm an atheist; perhaps that made me unaable to appreciate some of his Biblical references. Notwithstanding, I highly recommend this book.

Very inspirational
My parents and I have listened to all the CDs with the greatest enthusiasm over and over again. The quality is pretty good and the speeches are not extracts, but played in full. Barring few, I have found most of the introductions to be very informative and well presented. I am glad this collection includes both of Dr King's most famous "I have a Dream" and "I've been to the Mountaintop" speeches - I had noticed that most audio tapes include only one or the other, or both in extract form. I would certainly recommend this to anyone interested in great speeches. Also, one may access American Rhetoric website for the transcripts of these speeches to follow with the powerful voice of Dr King.

American that neede change
this is by far the greatest speeches made by dr.martin luther king jr, that changeamerica by far every true american should have a copy of it. i enjoylistening to it over andover again,

An Excellent Resource
I really enjoyed listening to the authentic voices of Dr. King and others on this CD.It has been an essential resource for my students, faculty and staff as well as very important to my community.I have been able to relearn and share the CD with many different settings during Black History month as well as with in the context of the King Holiday in January.This material and the authentic way it its delivered has made the "Black Experience" that much more real to every one I have shared the CD with.

I thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed this version of Dr. King's speeches.
... Read more

Product Description
Historian Gerald McKnight chronicles the extra-legal and illegal attempts of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI to subvert the Poor People's Campaign--Martin Luther King Jr.'s most ambitious and radical effort to force Washington to adhere to the promises of the Great Society and the war against poverty. McKnight shows how Hoover's watchdogs were aided by local law enforcement and elements of the federal government. ... Read more

Product Description
In this exemplary work of scholarly synthesis the author traces the course of events from the emergence of Martin Luther King, Jr. as a national black spokesman during the Montgomery bus boycott to his radical critique of American society and foreign policy during the last years of his life. He also provides the first in-depth analysis of King's famous Letter from Birmingham Jail - a manifesto of the American civil rights movement and an eloquent defence of non-violent protest.
... Read more

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Martin Luther King, Jr., is widely celebrated as an American civil rights hero. Yet King's nonviolent opposition to racism, militarism, and economic injustice had deeper roots and more radical implications than is commonly appreciated, Thomas F. Jackson argues in this searching reinterpretation of King's public ministry. Between the 1940s and the 1960s, King was influenced by and in turn reshaped the political cultures of the black freedom movement and democratic left. His vision of unfettered human rights drew on the diverse tenets of the African American social gospel, socialism, left-New Deal liberalism, Gandhian philosophy, and Popular Front internationalism.

King's early leadership reached beyond southern desegregation and voting rights. As the freedom movement of the 1950s and early 1960s confronted poverty and economic reprisals, King championed trade union rights, equal job opportunities, metropolitan integration, and full employment. When the civil rights and antipoverty policies of the Johnson administration failed to deliver on the movement's goals of economic freedom for all, King demanded that the federal government guarantee jobs, income, and local power for poor people. When the Vietnam war stalled domestic liberalism, King called on the nation to abandon imperialism and become a global force for multiracial democracy and economic justice.

Drawing widely on published and unpublished archival sources, Jackson explains the contexts and meanings of King's increasingly open call for "a radical redistribution of political and economic power" in American cities, the nation, and the world. The mid-1960s ghetto uprisings were in fact revolts against unemployment, powerlessness, police violence, and institutionalized racism, King argued. His final dream, a Poor People's March on Washington, aimed to mobilize Americans across racial and class lines to reverse a national cycle of urban conflict, political backlash, and policy retrenchment. King's vision of economic democracy and international human rights remains a powerful inspiration for those committed to ending racism and poverty in our time.

Customer Reviews (3)

Review
In his 2007 From Civil Rights to Human Rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Struggle for Economic Justice, historian Thomas F. Jackson argues that "King was much more radical, earlier and more consistently, than he is credited for being" (p. 3) Jackson takes issue with historians' assertions that Vietnam and the social and political climate of the 1960s radicalized King in 1965. Instead, stressing family and educational influences among others, Jackson argues that King's radicalism grew from a family tradition of social gospel teachings.A sense of economic justice was inherent in King's critiques from very early on. King was already radical in 1956 and grew increasingly radical until his death in 1968. That this is not evidenced throughout all speeches, sermons and writings is a function of king's awareness of the success of red-baiting as a method of marginalizing and discrediting both people and movements and of his awareness of his audience. Jackson's extensive use of King's papers here really validates his argument. Jackson further argues that portraying King as a "civil rights" leader is too narrow and imprecise a label for King (p. 85).
Throughout From Civil Rights to Human Rights, Jackson emphasizes themes consistent with a longer more nuanced view of the civil rights movement. In fact, that is one of the biggest strengths of Jackson's analysis. He adds layered dimensions to historiographical interpretations of King and the movements with which he was involved. Jackson weaves his arguments into a narrative of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, while displaying that even that terminology, "civil rights" was not enough without economic rights and human rights. In so doing, Jackson shows the importance of economic justice, organized labor, religion/ministers, the impact of the media attention (or lack thereof), gender issues, anti-communism, class tensions, intra-movement struggles (including local vs. national), the issue of violence/nonviolence/armed resistance and the influence of internationalism on King and his rhetoric.
Through his thorough research, Jackson uses draft versions of speeches and King's writings (among many other sources) to display that King's radicalism did not appear in the last few years of his life. For example, Jackson uses King's 1958 Stride Toward Freedom manuscripts to show that King was more radical earlier than generally thought, and also to show that he moderated (or highlighted) that radicalism depending on his audience. Jackson displays this by pointing to particular sections that were cut from the manuscript before the work was published.Through his analysis of these draft versions and the published work, Jackson also displays King's awareness of red-baiting and the accommodations he made in order to avoid communist accusations.Radicalism was not a contrary idea to his calls for "self-help". Instead, Jackson shows that King was influenced by a familial and cultural tradition of resistance. This resistance, partially because of his family's ministerial roots, was rooted in the social gospel, whichKing built on.Further, King's later calls for Black "self-help" "was perfectly consistent with broad social and governmental `action programs'" (p. 3).In fact, King argued that much of the social problems occurring in ghetto communities were a direct result of systemic institutional racism and the stresses that placed on African Americans practically, physically, mentally and emotionally.
Jackson displays King's treatment of women in general and within the movement in particular shows King as a man rooted in patriarchal tradition, both in his home life and in his leadership and management style. While Jackson recognizes that King's economic platform, for example, was about jobs for black men, and displayed little interest in single women's welfare issues, Jackson does portray him as increasingly open to gender issues.
Jackson pays particular attention to King's social democratic ideals and in his belief in the ultimate need for an alliance with labor and in economic justice and its inherent linkage with racial injustices, tragically culminating in his assassination while involved in the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers strike. Both Michael Honey in Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign and Jackson in Civil Rights to Human Rights, stress the important linkage between economic justice and racial justice and King's recognition of this.
Jackson lends the themes discussed here careful, nuanced interpretation and analysis. For example, he shows that relegating the issues regarding violence within the movement to a simple violence versus nonviolence debate was too simple and ignored the complex issues at play (p. 106).Jackson adds significant depth and nuance to the historiographical record in regard to the themes of economic justice and its linkage with racial justice, organized labor, religion/ministers, the impact of the media attention (or lack thereof), gender issues, anti-communism, class tensions, intra-movement struggles (including local vs. national), the issue of violence/nonviolence/armed resistance and the influence of internationalism on King and his rhetoric.

From Civil Rights to Human Rights:Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Struggle for Economic Justice
Dr. Jackson has presented a fresh view of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his place within the civil rights movement.First of all his picture of King as a searching, evolving activist adds flesh to a complex, often enigmatic historical figure.It gives him texture, shows him as continuously evolving his ideology.He is never at rest, always seeking, always questioning himself, always questioning others surrounding him, always growing, right up to the minute of his untimely death.The other really important aspect of FROM CIVIL RIGHTS TO HUMAN RIGHTS is the view of King removed from the strictly American civil rights movement.Dr. Jackson places him firmly within the international human rights movement.This speaks to both his growth as a man and philosopher as well as his growing awareness that American civil rights and human rights worldwide are inextricably linked.This book makes King believable as both human being and icon.

Compelling new biography of King
This is the most important and original book on Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. to be published in years. Jackson offers a persuasive account that challenges the conventional wisdom about King and his goals. King was not just the apostle of nonviolence. He was not just someone who wanted everyone to get along. King was a radical--who saw that personal transformation was not enough. Jackson shows how King saw the black freedom struggle as one of power and economics. This book is beautifully written and deeply researched. It will be impossible to think about King in the same way ever again after reading Jackson's account. ... Read more

Product Description
Recounts the life of Nobel Prize-winning civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ... Read more

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"The history books may write it Rev. King was born in Atlanta, and then came to Montgomery, but we feel that he was born in Montgomery in the struggle here, and now he is moving to Atlanta for bigger responsibilities." -- Member of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, November 1959 Preacher -- this simple term describes the twenty-five-year-old Ph.D. in theology who arrived in Montgomery, Alabama, to become the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in 1954. His name was Martin Luther King Jr., but where did this young minister come from? What did he believe, and what role would he play in the growing activism of the civil rights movement of the 1950s? In Becoming King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Making of a National Leader, author Troy Jackson chronicles King's emergence and effectiveness as a civil rights leader by examining his relationship with the people of Montgomery, Alabama. Using the sharp lens of Montgomery's struggle for racial equality to investigate King's burgeoning leadership, Jackson explores King's ability to connect with the educated and the unlettered, professionals and the working class. In particular, Jackson highlights King's alliances with Jo Ann Robinson, a young English professor at Alabama State University; E. D. Nixon, a middle-aged Pullman porter and head of the local NAACP chapter; and Virginia Durr, a courageous white woman who bailed Rosa Parks out of jail after Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white person. Jackson offers nuanced portrayals of King's relationships with these and other civil rights leaders in the community to illustrate King's development within the community. Drawing on countless interviews and archival sources, Jackson compares King's sermons and religious writings before, during, and after the Montgomery bus boycott. Jackson demonstrates how King's voice and message evolved during his time in Montgomery, reflecting the shared struggles, challenges, experiences, and hopes of the people with whom he worked. Many studies of the civil rights movement end analyses of Montgomery's struggle with the conclusion of the bus boycott and the establishment of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Jackson surveys King's uneasy post-boycott relations with E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks, shedding new light on Parks's plight in Montgomery after the boycott and revealing the internal discord that threatened the movement's hard-won momentum. The controversies within the Montgomery Improvement Association compelled King to position himself as a national figure who could rise above the quarrels within the movement and focus on attaining its greater goals. Though the Montgomery struggle thrust King into the national spotlight, the local impact on the lives of blacks from all socioeconomic classes was minimal at the time. As the citizens of Montgomery awaited permanent change, King left the city, taking the lessons he learned there onto the national stage. In the crucible of Montgomery, Martin Luther King Jr. was transformed from an inexperienced Baptist preacher into a civil rights leader of profound national importance.

Customer Reviews (3)

Montgomery's readiness for King
This is a fully readible yet well researched book that gives more information than any other has done on the black activist movement in Montgomery Alabama before Martin Luther King, Jr. came there to his first church pastorship. The black activist leaders who preceded King there laid the groundwork that made the famous bus boycott possible, and which in the beginning, in effect, led King into the civil rights movement.Once in, he began to lead the Montgomery uprising against the obscene bus practices, but in the beginning he was following the lead of others who had been long working for black causes in Montgomery. The author shows how much King learned from this experience, much of it from the working people who never faltered in their perseverence in a boycott that required big sacrifices from them, things leaned by King that went with him as he moved beyond Montgomery onto the national scene. Anyone who wants to understand the early development of Martin Luther King, Jr. as a (in my mind) great revolutionary leader, to be ranked with Washington and Lincoln, should read this book.

The Base of the Mountain
The maturing process is a journey full of "seasonings". We crawl before we walk. We babble before we speak. Most of us view Dr. King's life from sound bites and cliff notes bios that give us more of a mythic hero as opposed to a flesh and blood man.

Before Martin Luther King made it to the mountaintop, he spent a great deal of time building a base. This base was Montgomery, Alabama, where Dr. King learned to walk and find his voice and his impeccable sense of timing. Troy's exhaustive research has given us the gift of insight into the making of not just a leader but of a movement of which he became King. Troy reminds us of the people, decisions and timing that all came together to give Dr. King and the rest of the world a view from the mountaintop.

This is a fascinating and enjoyable read, especially in light of our recent election. I would highly recommend it for any student of history or leadership.

A Must Have for the serious collector of books about MLK
Before Dr. King was a national hero and an international Nobel prize winner he was a 25 year old preacher in Montgomery, Alabama taking care of his church members.Jackson shows King's leadership abilities and the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement. ... Read more

Product Description
This historical compilation of Martin Luther King, Jr. features live recordings of "The Great March To Freedom," "The Great March To Washington" and the immortal "Free At Last" speech. Plus, a poignant eulogy by Robert F. Kennedy. Run time: 70:02 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

THE MARTIN LUTHER KING,TAPES
GREAT MAN, GREAT SPEECH. I PLAY TAPE-CD ALL THE TIME IN THE CAR ON MY WAY TO WORK WHICH HELP ME TO KNOW HOW RACISM IS STILL A MAJOR FOR PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE AND HOW TO DEAL WITH IT IN A LOGICAL WAY.

Mighty KING, forever!
Great method to hear GREAT speeches from MLK. Yes, although not all of the speeches were spoken in their entirely, this CD still gives the listener the depth of King's lyrically speeches

King Speeches
I've searched for speeches by Dr.Martin Luther King and I was please with the choices available through Amazon. This is a good look back in history.

Being one with history...
MLK: The Martin Luther King tapes is the first Audio CD I've ever purchased.I am a new student of our great orators, and Martin, from what I've read, is the best.One of my only regrets concerning Dr. King's speeches is that I haven't been able to hear them all as spoken by his eloquent, yet powerful oratory style.This Audio CD has eliminated my concern.I can now hear Dr. King anytime I want to at work. I feel like I'm right there, listening with his audience. If this product is any indication of what to expect from future Audio CD's by other great orators such as JFK, FDR, and even Winston Churchill, then count me in! The only reason for the four stars as opposed to five stars is due to the rudely shortened eulogy of Robert Kennedy during Dr. King's funeral. There should have been more of it. ... Read more

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A simple biography of a great black leader emphasizing his dream of equal treatment for all Americans. ... Read more

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Why nonviolence matters

Eloquent and passionate, reasoned and sensitive, this pair of meditations by the revered civil-rights leader contains the theological roots of his political and social philosophy of nonviolent activism. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Everything
I expected and more. Great buy, fast shipping, a true mirror into a bygone era that should never be forgotten

quick delivery and quick read
I expected this book to be thicker and have more of the writings of Dr. King. Other than being disappointed in the length I was very pleased with this book.

Excellent book
Good content to get introduced to the great and revolutionary ideas of one of the greatest leaders of century.

Thoughts Beyond Measure
This pocket-style book written in 1959 contains two short inspirational, philosophical and theological thoughts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.King begins his introspection by revealing his answer to the question, What is Man?He follows this with his thoughts on the three dimensions of a complete life: length, breadth and height.Naturally, both points are deeply rooted in theology but you feel as if each is just a brief introduction to a much larger context.

not so good
i have the greatest respect for Dr. King. i expected this book to take a philosophical view towards measuring a man--- a philosophical view that emphasizes more on a certain methodism that values reason over passion. now, i understand Dr. King is a preacher and strongly believes in christianity. this book is a sermon. therefore, as someone who accepts christianity but not really endorses it to visit the church every sunday, i wouldn't have bought this book if i knew what perspective it would take. so this book is an excellent measure of a man, but it would be more preferable if it takes a different central figure other than God to measure a man. at least to me. its a very thin book by the way, more like a long essay. ... Read more

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FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Briefly recounts the life of the African American minister who devoted his life to civil rights and discusses the national holiday in his name celebrated on the third Monday of January. ... Read more

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A landmark graphic novel about the civil rights leader, collected in one volume for the first time.

This groundbreaking body of comics journalism collects for first time Anderson's entire biography of the renowned civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Over a decade in the making, the saga has been praised for its vivid recreation of one of the most tumultuous periods in U.S. history and for its accuracy in depicting the personal and public lives of King, from his birth to his assassination.

King probes the life story of one of America's greatest public figures with an unflinchingly critical eye, casting King as an ambitious, dichotomous figure deserving of his place in history but not above moral sacrifice to get there. Anderson's expressionistic visual style is wrought with dramatic energy; panels evoke a painterly attention to detail but juxtapose with one another in such a way as to propel King's story with cinematic momentum. Anderson's successful use of the graphic novel to tell a major work of nonfiction has drawn favorable comparisons to Art Spiegelman's Maus: A Survivor's Tale, Joe Sacco's Palestine, and Osamu Tezuka's Adolph.

Ho Che Anderson's biography traces King's life from his childhood in Atlanta and his education at Booker T. Washington High School, Morehouse College, and the Crozer Theological Seminary and his centrality to the civil rights movement: his first public involvement in civil rights when, in 1955, as President of the Montgomery Improvement Association, he organized the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott; his founding of the Southern Christian leadership Conference in 1957; his help in organizing the 1966 March on Washington and his "I Have a Dream" speech there; his Nobel price in 1964; his voter-registration campaign that ended in the Selma-to-Montgomery Freedom March; and the tragic moment on April 4, 1968 when he was shot dead on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.

King not only recreates the major events in King's public life, but chronicles the daily, rough-and-tumble, behind-the-scenes political maneuverings and strategic compromises that were required to mobilize millions of people toward a common goal. His internal debates with Ralph Abernathy and Jesse Jackson and his hardball negotiations with John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson are dramatized. Anderson's achievement is not merely a political biography filled with names and dates, but a fully rounded portrait of fallible human engaged in a superhuman effort—his fears, his doubts, his relationship with his wife Coretta King, and his children are compassionately and truthfully rendered.

Anderson's visual approach includes the use of photographs, realistic portraiture, and expressionistic imagery alternating between stark black and white chiaroscuro and painterly full color. The dialogue is unflinchingly naturalistic and accurately reflects the moral urgency and labyrinthine political and practical complexities that King was navigating, from his deeply felt, personal commitment to a public cause to the wider political eruptions the country was experiencing. This is a respectful, unsparing, truthful biography of a man and his times that captures the moral and political gravitas of the cause as well as its human dimension. A major work of comics, depicting a major work of history. 240 pages, full-color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not a plaster saint
Anderson's style is so impressionistic that you would have to know the basic facts of King's life and career to get much out of it. That being said, this book is not another hagiography of King as a non-threatening figure whose message was that we should all be polite to each other.

Anderson's King gets angry, gets hungry, gets horny, has periods of crippling despair; in other words, he was a human being. But he also stubbornly held onto what he felt was right, often in the face of powerful opposition. And make no mistake about it: charlatans and dolts like Bush II may invoke his name now, but Anderson makes clear that when he was alive, not everyone was standing around applauding.

The King we see here is almost as polarizing a figure as, well, Jesus. After reading it, I understand anew why M.L. King was a great, if not a perfect, man.

Powerful and gripping
The starkness of Ho Che Andersen's artwork is fitting in that it serves to heighten the mythological feel of King's life, which contrasts with the intimate portrait we get of the man and his daily struggles. The mixture of photography montage, black and white sketch work and the occassional, startling splash of color is mezmerizing.

I don't know enough to comment on the historical accuracy of Andersen's work; the first volume of King was released in 1993 and it took the author a decade more to finish. This is a labor of love foremost, and the author's passion manages to leap off the page at you. That Andersen has avoided the pettiness of humanizing King is no small miracle - the biography genre routinely suffers from trivializing those it portrays in an effort to make them seem more familiar.

My only complaint is the paraphrasing of much of King's "mountaintop speech" given the night before his death in Memphis. The speech is too long to be included in its entirety, but having listened to the audio clips of that speech too many times to recall I found Andersen's version lacking. I suppose this is only to be expected, but nonetheless I would have loved to have seen a few more pages devoted to what I consider a rhetorical masterpiece, and easily one of the greatest speeches ever given in America. If you've never heard it before, do your best to download it or otherwise listen to King at the height of his power; it is a speech much informed by the gift of sight and of prescience, and is all the more moving and remarkable for the last stanzas.

If you are as fascinated with Martin Luther King as I am, I cannot recommend this work enough. Go out and buy it, and marvel, and remember one of the most pivotal figures of the twentieth century whose message should be heeded no matter the era. ... Read more

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Simple text and illustrations describe the life and accomplishments of the revered civil rights pioneer. ... Read more

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After the triumphs of Montgomery and Selma, the crusade for civil rights rapidly gathered momentum--until stalling in the heartland of America, Chicago. A vivid account of how the Chicago Freedom Movement of 1965-67 attempted to combat northern segregation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

dull yet informative
James Ralph's account of the Chicago Freedom Movement was very informative, yet just lacked something...interesting details, perhaps, photos maybe...the language is very understandable, yet I still found my self falling asleep after every 10 pages or so.It's valuable foracademia, but not a candidate for a "weekend read." ... Read more

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Shared Dreams brings to life the impressive, surprising, and long-neglected history of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s efforts in support of the Jewish community.

At critical moments in the life of the American Jewish community, of Israel and of the plight of Soviet Jews, Martin Luther King, Jr. stepped in as an advocate to speak out for the human and civil rights of Jews. His efforts to support world Jewry-within the constraints of his primary role in the civil rights movement-cannot be forgotten. Indeed, they must be remembered.

Rabbi Marc Schneier presents the full story of Dr. King's involvement with the Jewish community. With the use of previously unpublished material and interviews with those who marched at Dr. King's side, the long-neglected story of mutual support and cooperation between Dr. King and the Jewish community is brought to life.

It is a story that will shed new light on the commitment and the relationship between the Jewish and African American communities as they have struggled together to fight for justice and civil rights for our nation. Even more, it is a story that encourages all of us-people of all faiths, all backgrounds-to continue to fight for justice in our world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good examination into an overlooked history
The release of this book, which is a well-documented look at the interesting relationship between Martin Luther King and American Jews, is quite timely and appropriate. In these early days of the millennium, Black-Jewish relationships seem to currently be on the mend from the low points of the 1990s, and books like this may help in the recovery process. Also quite well written with some little known information and rarely-read speechs by MLK on Black-Jewish realtions.

A timely history
You mean blacks and Jews did not all walk hand-in-hand during the Fifties and Sixties, even though nearly 70% of white Freedom Riders were Jewish?You mean not everyone prayed with their feet like Rabbi Heschel in Selma?You're telling me that president of the UAHC, leaders in social action, wasforced by his members to withdraw an invitation to King to speak at thegroup's 1959 convention in Miami?Did the Reverend James Bevel, a leaderof the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Selma, Ala., actuallywear a kippah (freedom beanie) at his rallies and it protected him from thesheriffs?In this book, Rabbi Schneir tells us the story of ReverendDoctor Martin Luther King's support for human and civil rights for Jews,his use of the Jewish experience in his speeches, and his call for theBaptists to stop trying to convert Jews. He also tells us the story ofJewish avid support of and reluctance to support King's movement.RabbiSchneir, the son of Rabbi Arthur Schneir of Manhattan's Park EastSynagogue, is a rabbi, founding rabbi of the West Hampton Synagogue,planner of the Palm Beach Synagogue, force behind a newcross-denominational rabbinical assembly, leader of the New York Board ofRabbis, President of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, and member ofthe NAACP. Schneier is quite frank, and includes the wariness of somesupporters of the far-left-wing Jews in King's entourage.He alsodiscusses King's attitudes toward Israel, Zionism, militarism and the SixDay War.By the way, while King may have been dis-invited to a conventionin 1959, by 1968, when King spoke at the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly'sconvention, he was greeted by over a thousand rabbis singing "We ShallOvercome" in Hebrew.King was planning to join Rabbi Abraham JoshuaHeschel's family for a Pesach seder in 1968, but was assassinated before hecould. ... Read more