The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.

Format:	Paperback 416 pages

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Synopsis

Compiled from his own words, this history-making autobiography IS Martin Luther King: the mild-mannered, inquisitive child and student who rebelled against segregation; the dedicated young minister who constantly 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 the reflective, world-famous leader who was fired by a vision of equality for people everywhere. Relevant and insightful, this Autobiography offers King's seldom discussed views on some of the world's greatest and most controversial figures including John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Mahatma Gandhi and Richard Nixon. This book brings to life a remarkable man whose thoughts and actions speak to our most burning contemporary issues and still inspire our desires, hopes and dreams.

Book details

Published
06/04/2000

Publisher
Abacus

ISBN
9780349112985

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Jacket review

'We owe a debt to Carson for delivering King to us whole... we are sumptuously prepared for the carrying the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr into the 21st Century.' THE TIMES 'worthy... King's life was rich in emotions and intellect.' FINANCIAL TIMES 'This book is amazingly thorough and offers many insights into one of America's most turbulent times.' SOUTH TYNESIDE HERALD, GATESHEAD HERALD, NEWCASTLE HERALD

UK Kirkus review

Towards the end of 1955 a young Baptist minister newly arrived in Montgomery Alabama suddenly found himself leading a massive protest movement. A black woman had been arrested for refusing to give up her seat on one of the city's segregated buses. The city's Negro population boycotted the buses, and the Reverend Martin Luther King was, almost by accident, their leader. He was jailed and his home was bombed, but King not only held the protest together, he also imbued it with his own spirit of non-violence. And the protesters won a breakthrough in the struggle for civil rights in America. From that moment on, King was rarely out of the public eye. A small, energetic man, he wasn't necessarily a great tactician (there were humiliating defeats to come, along with startling victories) but he had a gift for rhetoric which he used to raise funds and rouse consciences, and it was he alone who gave the civil rights movement its moral purpose and Gandhian non-violence. He wasn't universally popular - often the greatest opposition he faced was from other blacks, those like Malcolm X who campaigned for more radical action, or those who had already reached a comfortable accommodation with white society and didn't want to see it upset - but he won support from the Kennedys and from President Johnson, in speeches like the ringing 'I Have A Dream' he won the hearts not just of American blacks but of many whites as well, and in the end he effected a sea change in American history. This, though, despite its title and its backing by the King family, is no autobiography but a concoction from King's books, speeches and letters, most of them previously published. (Kirkus UK)