A review by bobbo49
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65 by Taylor Branch

5.0

I am moved by the coincidence of finishing this book, and with it (out of order, naturally) the trilogy, on the date of the Supreme Court argument over the constitutionality of the 2006 renewal of the Voting Rights Act, the 1965 version of which was the last legislative act of this middle saga of the King years. Malcolm X, Lyndon Johnson, the deplorable J. Edgar Hoover and his FBI, early stirrings of Vietnam, and the many other actors of the civil rights era, heroes and villains, share this story, which we all know is by no means completed. The details and the big picture still evoke awe and disgrace, admiration and disgust. Branch's lengthy but illuminating masterpieces are a necessary piece of history for the present and future generations.