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A review by skitch41
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65 by Taylor Branch
4.0
The Civil Rights movement profoundly affected American history and the nation’s race relations for a generation. Some of the big moments, like the March on Washington, are indelibly etched into popular imagination. But what was the movement like at its peak and what lessons does it hold for us today? In this second volume to his trilogy on the era, Mr. Branch catalogues the ins and outs of the movement at its peak.
This volume starts by retreading some ground from the last chapters in the previous book. For those who have read it, you might wonder why Mr. Branch decided to do this. However, Mr. Branch not only helps to refresh the memories of folks who may not have picked up the first volume in a while (almost a decade separates the publication of each of them volumes from each other) while also approaching it from a new perspective. While some of the first part will be familiar, much of it is also new too.
What is also much appreciated in this volume is how Mr. Branch expands his scope to include other voices that were not as prominent or even ignored in the previous volume. Specifically, Malcom X and the Nation of Islam finally make their appearance in Mr. Branch’s history and provide a much needed counterpoint to Dr. King’s nonviolent protest. While acknowledging the stark differences in philosophy, Mr Branch also injects Malcom X with enough nuance to upset the seemingly black-and-white narrative. It should be thought-provoking to many who have not given much though to Malcom X before.
Another great improvement in this sequel from the previous volume is how the chapters have been shrunk. With the exception of the last chapters, the average chapter length is about 10-20 pages; some are even shorter than that. This is a much welcome relief from the previous volume as 30-40 page chapters one after another could get a little tiresome.
Lastly, this book does a tremendous job of showing the forces that were only hinted at in the previous volume coming to a head. By the end of the book, the violent white backlash has come into full swing and the charges of infidelity against King and other members of the movement have come close to undermining the movement and even dissolved some marriages.
As we face another moment in our history where race relations and nonviolent protests are at the forefront of our politics, the lessons one can draw from this book are innumerable. For those who are looking for a definitive history of the Civil Rights movement, look no further than this history. I look forward to wrapping up the final volume in the trilogy soon.
This volume starts by retreading some ground from the last chapters in the previous book. For those who have read it, you might wonder why Mr. Branch decided to do this. However, Mr. Branch not only helps to refresh the memories of folks who may not have picked up the first volume in a while (almost a decade separates the publication of each of them volumes from each other) while also approaching it from a new perspective. While some of the first part will be familiar, much of it is also new too.
What is also much appreciated in this volume is how Mr. Branch expands his scope to include other voices that were not as prominent or even ignored in the previous volume. Specifically, Malcom X and the Nation of Islam finally make their appearance in Mr. Branch’s history and provide a much needed counterpoint to Dr. King’s nonviolent protest. While acknowledging the stark differences in philosophy, Mr Branch also injects Malcom X with enough nuance to upset the seemingly black-and-white narrative. It should be thought-provoking to many who have not given much though to Malcom X before.
Another great improvement in this sequel from the previous volume is how the chapters have been shrunk. With the exception of the last chapters, the average chapter length is about 10-20 pages; some are even shorter than that. This is a much welcome relief from the previous volume as 30-40 page chapters one after another could get a little tiresome.
Lastly, this book does a tremendous job of showing the forces that were only hinted at in the previous volume coming to a head. By the end of the book, the violent white backlash has come into full swing and the charges of infidelity against King and other members of the movement have come close to undermining the movement and even dissolved some marriages.
As we face another moment in our history where race relations and nonviolent protests are at the forefront of our politics, the lessons one can draw from this book are innumerable. For those who are looking for a definitive history of the Civil Rights movement, look no further than this history. I look forward to wrapping up the final volume in the trilogy soon.