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4.65 AVERAGE
4.65 AVERAGE
slow-paced
I can see why this biography of Martin Luther King Jr. won the National Book Award for nonfiction. Wow, what a book. It is a long one, be prepared. It clocks in at almost 700 pages, I did it on audio so it was almost 21 hours. But it honestly flew by for me. King did great things. But King was also a man and was fallible.
It hit all the notes you'd expect but the things that really struck me - 1) Hoover was absolutely racist bonkers gross. I knew the FBI tapped King and were following his every move, but Hoover's obsession and the presidents who supported that, were just gross. He was obsessed with King's sexual life and the FBI spent so much time obsessing over King's affairs and writing up fake letters about it to send to people and newspapers to discredit King. The FBI was and is a problem. 2) Coretta Scott King is so interesting and had to play the part of a quiet supportive preacher's wife, but had wanted so much more. I'd absolutely read her biography. I found her fascinating.
This book is great. I wholeheartedly recommend.
instagram.com/encylcopedia_britanika
It hit all the notes you'd expect but the things that really struck me - 1) Hoover was absolutely racist bonkers gross. I knew the FBI tapped King and were following his every move, but Hoover's obsession and the presidents who supported that, were just gross. He was obsessed with King's sexual life and the FBI spent so much time obsessing over King's affairs and writing up fake letters about it to send to people and newspapers to discredit King. The FBI was and is a problem. 2) Coretta Scott King is so interesting and had to play the part of a quiet supportive preacher's wife, but had wanted so much more. I'd absolutely read her biography. I found her fascinating.
This book is great. I wholeheartedly recommend.
instagram.com/encylcopedia_britanika
informative
inspiring
reflective
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
This extensive outlook on Martin Luther King's life has a mulittude of information that I had no idea was written about on the man himself. Even the idea of him being spied on sounded ludicrous (but also not since J. Edgar Hoover was in charge of the FBI at the time.) If anyone was in search of a more thorough biogaraphy on MLK, I would highly reccommend this source. It doesn't feel like dry like a textbook. You can tell the author took their time and put care into the sources he used, a lot of them being from friends and family, associates and words from the late Coretta herself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Confinement, Medical content
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
informative
sad
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slow-paced
Very in depth study of Dr. King's life. Also, an in depth study of the Jim Crow south. I've read a fair amount over the years about this era, but this book made it real for me somehow. It's a long book, but never boring.
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
My sister-friend told me about King: A Life. As a Black Woman all of my life, I viewed King as a martyr and a mythological type figure. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was a flawed man. Jonathan Eig's book made Dr. King human for me.
What still angers me is this watered-down narrative of Dr. King's life is STILL being perpetuated to this day. As a school librarian and educator in Memphis no less, there is no push to change this narrative. I learned so much from this biography and listening to the audio made it come alive. Dion Graham was the perfect choice as narrator. I found myself dreading the last chapter. I knew Dr. King was going to be assassinated but I held out hope that the story would change.
In 2024, sadly we are still facing some of the SAME issues that Dr. King valiantly tried to fight for.
Two of my favorite Dr. King quotes are:
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."
What still angers me is this watered-down narrative of Dr. King's life is STILL being perpetuated to this day. As a school librarian and educator in Memphis no less, there is no push to change this narrative. I learned so much from this biography and listening to the audio made it come alive. Dion Graham was the perfect choice as narrator. I found myself dreading the last chapter. I knew Dr. King was going to be assassinated but I held out hope that the story would change.
In 2024, sadly we are still facing some of the SAME issues that Dr. King valiantly tried to fight for.
Two of my favorite Dr. King quotes are:
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward."