Rating: 
Summary: Indispensable lesson in American history
Review: "Parting the Waters" brings vividly to life one of the most essential chapters in American history: the arduous struggles of African-Americans between 1954 and 1963 to secure the civil rights denied to them by nearly a century of organized opposition of the states and indifference on the part of the federal government.The book succeeds brilliantly on many levels: as a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., it captures the greatness of the man without cleansing him of flaws. As a political primer, it de-romanticizes the Kennedy administration, portraying John and his brother Robert as hard-nosed realists who were not unwilling to turn their backs on the civil rights movement if they felt that support would endanger their chances of re-election. As a People's history, it pays detailed homage to the foot soldiers who fought in the backwaters of Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia to dismantle the mountain of segregation. Men and women whom you may never have heard of will capture your imagination: James Bevel, Diane Nash, Septima Clark, Robert Moses, James Lawson, and Charles Sherrod, to name but a few who literally risked their lives to force America to live up to its ideals of equality of opportunity. And to those who would congratulate America on its successes in the field of civil rights, it offers a telling antidote to that self-congratulation in its recounting of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI's determined opposition to King and its tireless efforts to discredit him and the movement. Most of all, however, "Parting the Waters" reaffirms for me that great history is the province of the writer, not of the video documentarian. Some great filmwork has been done on this era: "Eyes on the Prize" and Spike Lee's "Four Little Girls" come to mind, as do film biographies of King, such as "Martin Luther King: An Amazing Grace." But the problem with film is that it inevitably reduces the civil rights struggle to a series of great moments of high drama, leaving the impression that the road to victory was inevitable, despite the obstacles. Branch's book, on the other hand, at times leaves you wondering whether the victories in Birmingham, Montgomery and elsewhere would ever be achieved, even when you know the outcome. It never shrinks from emphasizing the rifts within the movement itself, the daunting indifference of most of society, the doubts that plagued King himself, the hard compromises that had to be made, and the demoralizing defeats that were suffered in places like Albany, Georgia. This is first-rate work, an epic history and a story that accomplishes the paradoxical task of simultaneously stirring pride in this country's accomplishments and shame at the fact that the task to achieve the victories had to be undertaken at all.
Rating:
Summary: Americans struggling for the right to be Americans
Review: A compelling account of Americans struggling for the right to be Americans, and in the process ultimately defining what it means to BE American. Fighting against hulking Negro reluctance, bone chilling KKK terror, a hostile FBI, and an unsympthetic Federal Government the real life true grit story is at once great and humbling.
Rating:
Summary: Most comprehensive story of the early civil rights movement
Review: As race has been a defining issue in American politics for the last two centuries, no understanding of our time can be complete without a thorough knowledge of the civil rights movement. This book, beautifully written and carefully researched, is the most comprehensive picture of the early part of the civil rights movement that I have seen. Engaging as a story, this book manages to capture the full flavor of that great tide that swept away the old 'Jim Crow' south. Taylor presents it all: the protagonists, the movements and counter movements, the outrages that helped turn public opinion, the individual dramas that played out against the larger conflict. Never boring and never doctrinaire, this book builds chapter by chapter, a momentum just as the movement did, leading up to the triumphant March on Washington. Though Martin Luther King, Jr. is central to the story, this is not a King bio, nor does it deny space and attention to those others, black and white, who played key roles during this time. This is simply a fascinating book on a very important subject. I suspect it will be read as the definitive view of this period for some time. It is hard to imagine it being topped.
Rating:
Summary: Well Arranged, Timeless Historic Overview
Review: Branch's efforts to convey the efforts of the Civil Rights Movement under Martin Luther King, Jr., covering the watershed years is highly admirable, comprehensive and engaging. To read of this era (i.e., a movement defining an era) is to fully appreciate so many of the individual trials which culminated in some of the better aspects associated with self-empowerment, responsibility and the ultimate enrichment of those who, assuming risks against tremendous odds, lived to see some of the gratest triumphs in the history of our society.Well worth the Pulitzer, this book readily belongs alongside so many of the historic giants of American chronology. Strongly recommend
Rating:
Summary: It changed my life
Review: I first read PARTING THE WATERS 9 years ago. Since then I have read it again. And I have to say it is one of the best books ever written. The Pulitzer Prize was well deserved. The research and heart Mr. Branch has sewn into this beautiful story is amazing. And it's all true. I have just started on PILLAR OF FIRE, the 2nd part of the trilogy. I can't wait.
Rating:
Summary: The History of America in incomplete without this work.
Review: I know of no other book which I believe is more essential to the understanding of twentieth century America. Taylor Branch's epic work covers the waterfront of the Movement - from the unjustly obscure like Rev. Vernon Johns to the now reknowned 1963 March on Washington. No one can fully appreciate the sacrifice and the contribution of some of America's greatest souls without this work. Should be mandatory reading for every citizen.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've ever read!
Review: I purchased this because I am interested in King, the Civil Rights Movement and because I grew up during this timeframe and wanted to know more. I was a bit apprehensive when I saw the size of the book and worried it would be a drudge, but nothing could have been further from the truth. I find I look forward to reading it each night and can't put it down, but at the same time I don't want it to end. I am almost finished with it and have purchased the second book so I can continue (and I was really glad to hear this is a trilogy). I can't recommend this book enough. And I talk to everyone about it. It is an important work and a pure joy to read. Thank you Mr. Branch!
Rating: 
Summary: a comprehensive history of the civil rights struggle
Review: I read this book knowing that it would be exhaustively detailed and indeed it was. I was surprised, however, at how much I enjoyed it, and how engaging it was. As many people, I was familiar with many of the characters and some of the events (by no means, most)and this gave a very good look at the details and what was really going on behind the scenes. It also gave a very realistic view of the black ministers culture that M.L.King came out of which is very helpful in understanding him better. Altogether an excellent book and well worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive and moving
Review: I was bored by historical books. That was until I opened the first page of Taylor Branch's book. His ability to mix history, narrative and personal descriptions of the people involded in the civil rights movement made my reading extremely enjoyable, informative and captivating. At times I wad moved to tears and almost no book has had that effect on me so far. The book does not only focus on M.L. King himself and all the other characters involved made me feel part of a broader struggle for more humanity. It has been months since I read the book and my first impressions have remained as strong, I would advice it to anyone who wants to have fun, to be moved and learn at the same time. The civil rights movement is an essential part of history, you should read the book for your personal development, that is, development of your mind and of your heart. Just wonderful!
Rating:
Summary: Essential Reading on the Civil Rights Era
Review: In his epic account of America during the Civil Rights Era, Taylor Branch provides a compelling portrait of the rise to prominence of Martin Luther King, Jr. This Pulitzer Prize winning book is historical narrative at its finest. Branch focuses on the life of King, the African American politics of the era, as well as the local, state, and national politics affecting the civil rights movement. Michael Luther King, Jr., was born to an elite African-American family on January 15, 1929. At the age of five, his father would change his and his son's names to Martin Luther King, in honor of Martin Luther after the elder King traveled to Germany. The younger King was raised with the highest of expectations. Highly unusual in his time, the King family had the means, through their powerful position as a leading Atlanta black family and through the enterprising and industrious ways of MLK, Sr., to put MLK, Jr. through college up to the level of earning a P.H.D. from Boston University. This education both shaped the younger King in the traditional ways of learning, as well as through the social contacts he gained, and through the experience of living in the relatively liberal north. In 1954 at the age of 25, two weeks after the Warren Supreme Court handed down the landmark decision in Brown, et al., v. Board of Education of Topeka, King gave his first sermon as pastor-designate at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. In taking this job, King was defying his father who wanted his son to eventually take over at his own church, Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church. Moving into the deep south, and away from the elite black community of Atlanta, King was in for a rude awakening as he was exposed to the depths and strengths of entrenched racism. King soon rose to national prominence as the leader of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). With the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat to a white man, the MIA mobilized the black community in Montgomery into what became the largest act of civil disobedience among blacks up to that time. Branch's account of the Montgomery bus boycott, like the entire book, is riveting. Through great bravery, hardship, and persecution, the blacks triumphed and the Montgomery buses were finally integrated. King was just one of many blacks who provided leadership and showed courage through this ordeal, but because of his skills as an orator and his position as the leader of the MIA, he found himself thrust into the national spotlight. The book culminates with the march on Washington in 1963, and the assassination of President Kennedy that same year. Throughout, King is portrayed as a brilliant leader, a fiery orator, a man willing to go to jail for what he believes in, and a man who is successfully and brilliantly riding the tides and changing currents of his times. However, Branch does not portray King as a solo operator. The events of the Civil Rights Era, starting roughly with the Brown decision, and going through the assassination of King in 1968, are a series of events with multiple personalities and acts of bravery against institutionalized persecution and entrenched bigotry. The southern mayors, governors, police chiefs, policemen, firemen, and the angry white southern mobs are shown as the villains of a racist society. President Eisenhower and to a lesser degree President Kennedy were reluctant participants in the inflammatory racial politics of their time. Attorney General Robert Kennedy took a more active role in civil rights than any of his predecessors at the Department of Justice, but he too was hemmed in by the politics of his own party. Richard Nixon, Ike's vice president and the Republican candidate in 1960, was more in tune with the plight of blacks than Eisenhower was, but Branch portrays Nixon, along with the other leading politicians of both parties as always acting out of political calculation. The most sinister man on the national level was J. Edgar Hoover, the entrenched FBI chief who would stop at nothing in his sick plots of snooping into the private lives of anyone he deemed of interest. King ranked high on that list. "Parting the Waters" is a long book, but it is an easy and quick read. Branch brilliantly gives the reader a taste of America during the years of 1954 to 1963 from the perspective of the civil rights issue. He also portrays Martin Luther King, Jr., now a national martyr and hero to blacks and whites alike, as an extraordinary human being who rose to the challenges of his times and helped lead all Americans closer to the promised land of equal opportunity.
|
