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A review by cisko
At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years 1965-68 by Taylor Branch
5.0
Fascinating, attentive, and vivid, Canaan’s Edge is the third masterful entry in Branch’s trilogy on Dr. Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. It lives up to the first two volume, but the scope — covering 1965-68 — is difficult and foreboding. The movement searches for direction after Selma, while the rising menace of the Vietnam War draws away money, attention, and energy. Branch draws parallels between the political travails of Lyndon Johnson and the movement struggle of MLK and the SCLC, facing increasing pressures from both weary moderates and militant Black Power factions, frustrated with nonviolence and itching for a fight. Even as the impending doom of Memphis looms, inertial pressures and movement fatigue seem as great a tragedy.
But while the tone of the book is gloomy and weary, the material is fascinating, and it’s clearly an important book for understanding not only MLK’s life’s work, but also the struggles and challenges in attempting to change American society. My only regret is that Branch stops so suddenly with MLK’s death, bringing the story to a close on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, but I understand why he chooses to leave the aftermath to other projects. An epic conclusion to a monumental biography, crucial for understanding how we got where we are, and what we face in trying to change it.
But while the tone of the book is gloomy and weary, the material is fascinating, and it’s clearly an important book for understanding not only MLK’s life’s work, but also the struggles and challenges in attempting to change American society. My only regret is that Branch stops so suddenly with MLK’s death, bringing the story to a close on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, but I understand why he chooses to leave the aftermath to other projects. An epic conclusion to a monumental biography, crucial for understanding how we got where we are, and what we face in trying to change it.