A review by samantha_shain
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65 by Taylor Branch

3.0

The first installment of the Branch trilogy was much more aligned with my taste, as it had a greater focus on community organizing and a less focus on federal intervention and national party politics. I thought the trope of synchronicity felt a bit forced and the sections on the War in Vietnam seemed underdeveloped or out of place. Certainly they lacked the depth of the parallel stories of civil rights work in Alabama and Mississippi and the transformation of Malcolm X. I am intrigued by the stories of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and may endeavor to read another book on that subject.