King : a Life

I was alive for many of the events portrayed in this book - although too young to remember most of it. This was a wonderful combination of details on the wide cast of characters in the 50s and 60s civil rights movement, a deep dive into the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., and description of the events he was a part of.

I enjoyed learning more about the person - his anxieties, his foibles, and his singular passion for civil rights. That he accomplished so much in so little time is extraordinary, and this description of his life is worth a read, even if you've read other biographies.

As the Brits say, No man is a hero to his valet, and one might suppose that no great man will emerge from a non-hagiographic biography with his reputation unscathed. But I found that Dr. King may be the exception. His extraordinary bravery and single-minded devotion to his moral goals are only amplified by his human failings. As Dick Gregory comments at the end of the book, What makes King different from Jesus? Jesus is hearsay. Don’t mean it didn’t happen, but there’s film of King….