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professor_x's review against another edition
5.0
This was a fantastic read.
I was looking through my calendar one day when I realized that MLK Day was a couple of weeks away. I thought about it for a second and a sudden thought hit me – my knowledge of Mr. King as a person and his accomplishments were something I knew almost nothing about. I decided to change that.
Firstly, this isn’t your usual biography. Clayborne Carson was granted access to a trove of paperwork that included King’s sermons, publications in magazines, writings and speeches. Carson put these written works together to form a type of narrative. What the reader gets is insight directly from Martin Luther King Jr. on a slew of topics.
We learn about his years in college and learn about the books and people that inspired him to fully follow the philosophy of non-violent protest and revolution. He deeply believed that doing so would bring about much needed change that violent protest couldn’t achieve. Starting with the Montgomery Bus Boycott and every protest that bloomed afterwards we can see that the very act of kindness and love helped bring about a change in America.
Mr. King was an extremely intelligent man. Besides his studies, he was an extremely eloquent writer. To hear him speak was one thing; I think we’ve all have gotten shivers when listening to him read his “I Have A Dream” speech. But reading his words? An absolute treat.
On his reading and learning about different theologies:
I haven’t even mentioned his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Holy cow.
The rest of his writings are amazing and will make you a better person, if you heed his words. I finished this book feeling the same way after finishing Malcolm X’s biography: filled with a new sense of urgency to help others. To be good to each other. To try and be a better person. To be more kind and generous. To combat hate with love. Things are better solved when the hands are not clenched in a fist but open for a handshake. Highly recommend!
I was looking through my calendar one day when I realized that MLK Day was a couple of weeks away. I thought about it for a second and a sudden thought hit me – my knowledge of Mr. King as a person and his accomplishments were something I knew almost nothing about. I decided to change that.
Firstly, this isn’t your usual biography. Clayborne Carson was granted access to a trove of paperwork that included King’s sermons, publications in magazines, writings and speeches. Carson put these written works together to form a type of narrative. What the reader gets is insight directly from Martin Luther King Jr. on a slew of topics.
We learn about his years in college and learn about the books and people that inspired him to fully follow the philosophy of non-violent protest and revolution. He deeply believed that doing so would bring about much needed change that violent protest couldn’t achieve. Starting with the Montgomery Bus Boycott and every protest that bloomed afterwards we can see that the very act of kindness and love helped bring about a change in America.
Mr. King was an extremely intelligent man. Besides his studies, he was an extremely eloquent writer. To hear him speak was one thing; I think we’ve all have gotten shivers when listening to him read his “I Have A Dream” speech. But reading his words? An absolute treat.
On his reading and learning about different theologies:
"But my intellectual odyssey on nonviolence did not end here. During my senior year in theological seminary, I engaged in the exciting reading of various theological theories. Having been raised in a rather strict fundamentalist tradition, I was occasionally shocked when my intellectual journey carried me through new and sometimes complex doctrinal lands, but the pilgrimage was always stimulating; it gave me a new appreciation for objective appraisal and critical analysis, and knocked me out of my dogmatic slumber."
I haven’t even mentioned his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Holy cow.
The rest of his writings are amazing and will make you a better person, if you heed his words. I finished this book feeling the same way after finishing Malcolm X’s biography: filled with a new sense of urgency to help others. To be good to each other. To try and be a better person. To be more kind and generous. To combat hate with love. Things are better solved when the hands are not clenched in a fist but open for a handshake. Highly recommend!
veuxmourir's review against another edition
5.0
Honestly, I would rate this five stars for "Letter from Birmingham Jail" alone. However, I do feel that people should know that the title of this book is very misleading. The book isn't actually fully written by MLK; though some of the passages are his own writing, most of the book was written by a historian piercing together King's life with his autobiographical snippets. Due to this, the writing was at times awkward and generally lacked King's eloquence. Either way, this is about fucking MLK. Of course it's amazing.
cantrememberthedreamthatihad's review against another edition
4.0
The achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. cannot be overstated. His assassination at the age of 39 prevented him from writing a real autobiography, so editor Clayborne Carson has assembled writings, speeches, and sermons by Dr. King to construct this book.
This book gives remarkable insight into King's thoughts about his childhood, about various civil rights campaigns in Montgomery, Atlanta, Selma, and others as well as his anti-war and anti-poverty stance. It reveals the thoughts of a truly brilliant and remarkable human being whose dedication to non-violence resistance is as inspiring and important today as it was in the 60's.
As this is a collection of writings and not an actual autobiography, the narrative suffers a bit at times, there isn't much on Dr. King's personal life, and there are repetitive portions, but again, Dr. King was never able to assemble an autobiography.
This is an important work for anyone who wants a greater insight into Dr. King's thought processes, morals, and dedication to combating racism, poverty, and violence.
This book gives remarkable insight into King's thoughts about his childhood, about various civil rights campaigns in Montgomery, Atlanta, Selma, and others as well as his anti-war and anti-poverty stance. It reveals the thoughts of a truly brilliant and remarkable human being whose dedication to non-violence resistance is as inspiring and important today as it was in the 60's.
As this is a collection of writings and not an actual autobiography, the narrative suffers a bit at times, there isn't much on Dr. King's personal life, and there are repetitive portions, but again, Dr. King was never able to assemble an autobiography.
This is an important work for anyone who wants a greater insight into Dr. King's thought processes, morals, and dedication to combating racism, poverty, and violence.
isering's review against another edition
4.0
Note that this wasn't written by MLK himself, but rather a group of people by going through his notes and speeches. Remarkably, what emerges is pretty coherent - by forming chapters around topics (e.g. a long one on Black Power) it flows almost as well as other autobiographies. However it does feel somewhat too neutral at times - not as personal or one-on-one as it presumably would have been had MLK written it. They also quote at length from his speeches which is actually a positive because he speaks so well!
Overall, I learned a lot from this and would definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn't know as much about MLK as they'd like to
Overall, I learned a lot from this and would definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn't know as much about MLK as they'd like to
dingakaa's review against another edition
5.0
For better or worse, I had Malcom X's autobiography on the brain the entire time I read this. It provided a nice contrast, not only between the individuals as people, but stylistically, as writers. King was an academic and wrote, early in his life, as if he was going to defend a thesis. This transformed into a lyrical type of prose after he became a pastor; it is enchanting. As you read this book, you feel the lens of his current voice come into focus. This is all the more enhanced by the book's use of excerpts of his letters and speeches where you almost feel as if you are listening to him speak in real time. Style aside, his ideas are powerful and compelling. This man was a revolutionary and this book is required reading.
shumska's review against another edition
4.0
u današnje vrijeme -kad nema ništa lakše nego uključiti komp, naći prikladan post ili osobu i opaliti šamar iz udobnosti svog naslonjača- čitati kingove govore i propovijedi i slijediti njegovu filozofiju nenasilja djeluje kao čista bajka. kao da progovara duh iz nepostojeće pećine.
ovo nije autobiografija u smislu da ju je martin luther king napisao; clayborne carson poslužio se raznim izvorima (kingova pisma, dokumenti, govori, intervjui, izjave itd.) te ih uobličio u tekst pisan u prvom licu, pokušavajući nam tako kinga učiniti svojevrsnim osobnim pripovjedačem. iz dobivenog, jasno je da je king bio silno karizmatični lik, njegove govore gotovo da možeš čuti, gotovo da možeš osjetiti intonaciju i dinamiku zanosa dok se obraća bilo bijeloj, bilo crnoj zajednici. svoje retoričke sposobnosti tesao je kao pastor, ali vrhunac je dosegao u ohrabrujućim, biblijski nadahnutim govorima u kojima se vidi koje je njegovo životno poslanje: potaknuti crnu zajednicu da se izbori za svoja prava, za svoju slobodu. tako je naglasak u knjizi na njegovoj socijalnoj misiji, a u zapećku je njegov privatni život (na suprugu se povremeno referira kao na nekoga bez koga on ne bio bio to što jest, ali četvero njegove djece u ovom djelu ne zauzimaju nikakvu ulogu).
iako ne mogu reći da se mogu u potpunosti emocionalno povezati s problemima koje crna zajednica stoljećima nosi na svojim plećima, ovo je važna knjiga za sve koje zanimaju ljudska prava i problem rasizma.
ovo nije autobiografija u smislu da ju je martin luther king napisao; clayborne carson poslužio se raznim izvorima (kingova pisma, dokumenti, govori, intervjui, izjave itd.) te ih uobličio u tekst pisan u prvom licu, pokušavajući nam tako kinga učiniti svojevrsnim osobnim pripovjedačem. iz dobivenog, jasno je da je king bio silno karizmatični lik, njegove govore gotovo da možeš čuti, gotovo da možeš osjetiti intonaciju i dinamiku zanosa dok se obraća bilo bijeloj, bilo crnoj zajednici. svoje retoričke sposobnosti tesao je kao pastor, ali vrhunac je dosegao u ohrabrujućim, biblijski nadahnutim govorima u kojima se vidi koje je njegovo životno poslanje: potaknuti crnu zajednicu da se izbori za svoja prava, za svoju slobodu. tako je naglasak u knjizi na njegovoj socijalnoj misiji, a u zapećku je njegov privatni život (na suprugu se povremeno referira kao na nekoga bez koga on ne bio bio to što jest, ali četvero njegove djece u ovom djelu ne zauzimaju nikakvu ulogu).
iako ne mogu reći da se mogu u potpunosti emocionalno povezati s problemima koje crna zajednica stoljećima nosi na svojim plećima, ovo je važna knjiga za sve koje zanimaju ljudska prava i problem rasizma.
redwolf1187's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
King’s words are as relevant today as they were in the 1960s. A required read for all people concerned with freedom and equity for all.
emilyks's review against another edition
4.5
I learned a lot reading this and only gave it a lower rating because I found the flow of the narrative a bit choppy at times.