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4.64 AVERAGE
4.64 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
I was lucky that my library had the audiobook version of this book. Not that I wouldn't have read the hardback or ebook copies, but a book of this size is always a little daunting even when the subject is of interest. Eig did an incredible job of bringing Dr. King's life to the reader in vivid detail. Expertly written and well-researched this book paints a picture of who Dr. King was as a person, not just a prominent Civil Rights leader.
My favorite part of the book was how Eig was to peel back the layers of mythologizing that have surrounded Dr. King's legacy to reveal the man underneath. Eig states that due to his important place in history, people often forget that Dr. King was a man deeply embedded within his time and did not have the foresight to see how things would unfold. The stories that Eig highlights throughout Dr. King's life bring into focus not only how young he was when he rose to be one of the most recognizable faces of a movement, but also the very real pressures he was under. Dr. King's faith and his dedication to nonviolent resistance repeatedly shine throughout his life.
Dr. King's relationships with other Civil Rights leaders, politicians in Washington (specifically RFK and LBJ), and Hoover were also interesting to learn about. The new insights into Dr. King's relationship with Malcolm X were particularly interesting. J. Edgar Hoover's vendetta against Dr. King also had many layers, which Eig articulated in a way that was framed by larger political events.
Highly recommend this book. It's well-written and keeps the reader engaged from start to finish. It also paints a colorful portrait of a man, an intellectual, a husband, a father, a preacher, a friend, a son, a brother, and a leader.
My favorite part of the book was how Eig was to peel back the layers of mythologizing that have surrounded Dr. King's legacy to reveal the man underneath. Eig states that due to his important place in history, people often forget that Dr. King was a man deeply embedded within his time and did not have the foresight to see how things would unfold. The stories that Eig highlights throughout Dr. King's life bring into focus not only how young he was when he rose to be one of the most recognizable faces of a movement, but also the very real pressures he was under. Dr. King's faith and his dedication to nonviolent resistance repeatedly shine throughout his life.
Dr. King's relationships with other Civil Rights leaders, politicians in Washington (specifically RFK and LBJ), and Hoover were also interesting to learn about. The new insights into Dr. King's relationship with Malcolm X were particularly interesting. J. Edgar Hoover's vendetta against Dr. King also had many layers, which Eig articulated in a way that was framed by larger political events.
Highly recommend this book. It's well-written and keeps the reader engaged from start to finish. It also paints a colorful portrait of a man, an intellectual, a husband, a father, a preacher, a friend, a son, a brother, and a leader.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy
informative
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
This is a bold emotional book. It details the successes and failures of what King was trying to do to make America a more equal country.
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Rating: 4.5. I was super excited about this book, but it was also incredibly daunting. It is the latest and most comprehensive biography of the life of Martin Luther King Jr., and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intimidated by the 550+ pages. However, I have never read a historical book that has captured my attention as much as this one. Eig did an incredible job of making the writing engaging while still sticking to all facts. What I knew about MLK before reading this was incomparable to what I understand now. It not only discussed details about the well-known happenings of the civil rights movement in the 60s, but also went as far back as the 40s and 50s with incredible detail about things I never knew. It highlighted all parts of MLK, those that made him an incredible leader and activist, but also his flaws as a human being. This book will be one that remains in my mind for a long time, I feel, I am promptly going to add it to my library.
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced