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4.65 AVERAGE
4.65 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Without a doubt, Eig’s biography of the late MLK Jr.’s life is a powerful story with a fierce, hopeful and determined voice. It gives us a very definitive look at King: his childhood in rural Georgia with his family, going to college while becoming a young pastor, meeting and marrying Coretta and having a family while slowly becoming a strong voice of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s facing many obstacles and challenges.
It’s very informative and gripping as learn a lot about King that probably not all of us knew about, as well as showing us that King had his own flaws and never saw himself as perfect. A captivating story about a man who had a dream. <b>A (100%/Outstanding)</b>
I was not expecting this to be an actual page turner! Even if you think you’re well-versed enough with King, the added quotes and anecdotes from Coretta and other civil rights truly elevate his legacy.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I can't say a 688 page biography on MLK Jr. had been on my bucket list. I'd also say that if it had been, I would have thought there were likely sufficient biographies out there already available that could check that box for me. I went into this supremely ignorant, knowing little more than some very basic history and the "I have a dream speech." Despite my naiveté, you may likely be thinking, "does the world really need another book about MLK?
Well, first and foremost this book told me about the art of writing a biography. In terms of new revelations, I had never really made the connection that in order to write a biography you need sufficient amounts of information about the person and that information can both be lost and change over time, but can also become suddenly available. In terms of loss, there are only a few people who personally knew MLK still alive today. Those accounts of those personal encounters would have been lost had Eig not tracked them down to facilitate the sharing of those stories. In terms of new information, well...the required 35 years has lapsed and the classified documents of the FBI obsession with MLK have finally been released. Thus, you cannot write a comprehensive biography too early or too late and Eig seems to time it just perfectly.
What is remarkable is that all of this song and dance wiretapping and stalking MLK revealed exactly what they were NOT hoping to find no matter which way they looked, which was a whole lot of nothing. MLK was just not interested in an anarchist communist uprising . Dude just wanted people to see black people as human beings and all of his teachings were all rooted in the Bible, simple as that.
The other impressive accomplishment is how Eig handled the flawed character of MLK, revealing his inclination towards plagiarism and lifelong infidelity of his wife. I am not sure MLK would check out in today's #metoo environment. Do we forgive that and say no one's perfect? Does it matter? However, as stated in the closing, Eig is able to keep the reader's "eye on the ball", relaying just enough information the reader needs to better understand MLK as a human, but also not to distract from the narrative and pace of the bigger picture being portrayed.
The most impressive thing I learned about MLK is just how hard he worked into the night, day after day. Reading, writing, meeting with people...every damn day. Tireless. I never appreciated the mental toll that can take on a person, no matter how passionate one is. How defeating it must have been for people to say to him things are worse off than they were than when he started his efforts. What was most inspring to me was his commitment to nonviolence, time and time again. I really enjoyed the contrast with Malcom X, who sometimes seemed like the inverted MLK. Eig carries this thread throughout the book, even reporting on the <i>Playboy</i> interview with Malcom X and his feelings towards MLK, noting that what was actually published was in complete contrast than what was actually int he recorded interviews. The press loved to pin the two against one another. However, Eig does a good job using Malcom X to portray the ongoing alternative efforts of the time and how others in the limelight coped with being there in comparison to King.
An important book of our time, and I am glad it is receiving the attention it deserves.
Well, first and foremost this book told me about the art of writing a biography. In terms of new revelations, I had never really made the connection that in order to write a biography you need sufficient amounts of information about the person and that information can both be lost and change over time, but can also become suddenly available. In terms of loss, there are only a few people who personally knew MLK still alive today. Those accounts of those personal encounters would have been lost had Eig not tracked them down to facilitate the sharing of those stories. In terms of new information, well...the required 35 years has lapsed and the classified documents of the FBI obsession with MLK have finally been released. Thus, you cannot write a comprehensive biography too early or too late and Eig seems to time it just perfectly.
What is remarkable is that all of this song and dance wiretapping and stalking MLK revealed exactly what they were NOT hoping to find no matter which way they looked, which was a whole lot of nothing. MLK was just not interested in an anarchist communist uprising . Dude just wanted people to see black people as human beings and all of his teachings were all rooted in the Bible, simple as that.
The other impressive accomplishment is how Eig handled the flawed character of MLK, revealing his inclination towards plagiarism and lifelong infidelity of his wife. I am not sure MLK would check out in today's #metoo environment. Do we forgive that and say no one's perfect? Does it matter? However, as stated in the closing, Eig is able to keep the reader's "eye on the ball", relaying just enough information the reader needs to better understand MLK as a human, but also not to distract from the narrative and pace of the bigger picture being portrayed.
The most impressive thing I learned about MLK is just how hard he worked into the night, day after day. Reading, writing, meeting with people...every damn day. Tireless. I never appreciated the mental toll that can take on a person, no matter how passionate one is. How defeating it must have been for people to say to him things are worse off than they were than when he started his efforts. What was most inspring to me was his commitment to nonviolence, time and time again. I really enjoyed the contrast with Malcom X, who sometimes seemed like the inverted MLK. Eig carries this thread throughout the book, even reporting on the <i>Playboy</i> interview with Malcom X and his feelings towards MLK, noting that what was actually published was in complete contrast than what was actually int he recorded interviews. The press loved to pin the two against one another. However, Eig does a good job using Malcom X to portray the ongoing alternative efforts of the time and how others in the limelight coped with being there in comparison to King.
An important book of our time, and I am glad it is receiving the attention it deserves.
4.5 stars.
This is a long and all encompassing look at the life behind the man we know behind “The I Have a Dream” speech. It was exhaustingly comprehensive to consider all of the things MLK did in 20 years and see the toll and impact on himself and his family as he strove to better black lives in America.
Kudos to the author.
This is a long and all encompassing look at the life behind the man we know behind “The I Have a Dream” speech. It was exhaustingly comprehensive to consider all of the things MLK did in 20 years and see the toll and impact on himself and his family as he strove to better black lives in America.
Kudos to the author.
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced