Martin Luther King, Jr

Rating:
Summary: Martin Luther King and Moral Struggle
Review: In a short space, Marshall Frady has written an informative, inspiring and thoughtful biography of Martin Luther King Jr., of the nature of his achievement, of his America, and of his vision. The book does not engage in hero-worship or myth-making but rather presents Dr. King as a tortured.conflicted, and lonely individual. Frady writes at the close of his introduction (p.10) (itself a wonderful summation of the book and of Dr. King's achievement): "And what the full-bodied reality of King should finally tell us, beyond all the awe and celebration of him, is how mysteriously mixed, in what torturously complicated frms, our moral heroes -- our prophets --actually come to us."

A theme of this book is how Dr. King's moral vision and achievement emerged from moral conflict. Dr King spent most of his career walking a difficult path between extremes. At the beginning of his career, he was criticized by the more conservative black establishment which preferred to use the courts rather than demonstrations as a means to promote racial equality. Indeed, Frady tells us, the Mongomery bus boycott of 1955, which catapaulted Dr. King into national prominence, did not end the segregation of the city's bus system -- a court decision did.

Towards the end of his career, black leaders such as Malcolm X and Stokely Charmichael pressured Dr. King to abandon his philosophy of nonviolence. He did not do so. But Frady shows us how Dr. King and Malcolm X near the end of their lives each learned something from the other.

King's most difficult moral struggle was with himself. Frady gives us a convincing picture of how Dr. King, whose appeal rested upon an ability to convey moral and religous principle, struggled (unsuccessfully) with sexuality. A myriad of affairs followed him and his mission from beginning to end. Frady has insightful things to say about the relationship between Dr. King's tortured, complex personal life and his public mission.

Frady also describes how near the end of his career with segregation on the decline in the South, Dr. King tried to expand his mission by opposing the war in Vietnam and by his "poor peoples campaign" which Dr. King saw as an attack on the materialism, impersonality, and greed that he found pervaded American life. In so expanding his mission, Dr. King alienated many of his followers. His lasting achievement does not rest upon these later activities, according to Frady, but rather upon the idealism and moral committment with which he was able to infuse American life during a few short years.

Frady gives us an eloquent discussion of Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech in Washington D.C. Later in his career, Dr King set forth his vision for America by speaking in terms of a "Beloved Community", a phrase adopted from the early 20th Century American philosopher, Josiah Royce. Dr King said (p. 183) "When I talk about power and the need for power, I'm talking in terms of the need for power to bring about ... the creation of the Beloved Community." Our nation is still trying to recover something of Dr. King's idealism and of the best of his vision.

This book encourages us to think about and to formulate for ourselves the vision of America as a "Beloved Community" by reflecting on the life and achievement of a complex man.

Rating:
Summary: Martin Luther King and Moral Struggle
Review: In a short space, Marshall Frady has written an informative, inspiring and thoughtful biography of Martin Luther King Jr., of the nature of his achievement, of his America, and of his vision. The book does not engage in hero-worship or myth-making but rather presents Dr. King as a tortured.conflicted, and lonely individual. Frady writes at the close of his introduction (p.10) (itself a wonderful summation of the book and of Dr. King's achievement): "And what the full-bodied reality of King should finally tell us, beyond all the awe and celebration of him, is how mysteriously mixed, in what torturously complicated frms, our moral heroes -- our prophets --actually come to us."

A theme of this book is how Dr. King's moral vision and achievement emerged from moral conflict. Dr King spent most of his career walking a difficult path between extremes. At the beginning of his career, he was criticized by the more conservative black establishment which preferred to use the courts rather than demonstrations as a means to promote racial equality. Indeed, Frady tells us, the Mongomery bus boycott of 1955, which catapaulted Dr. King into national prominence, did not end the segregation of the city's bus system -- a court decision did.

Towards the end of his career, black leaders such as Malcolm X and Stokely Charmichael pressured Dr. King to abandon his philosophy of nonviolence. He did not do so. But Frady shows us how Dr. King and Malcolm X near the end of their lives each learned something from the other.

King's most difficult moral struggle was with himself. Frady gives us a convincing picture of how Dr. King, whose appeal rested upon an ability to convey moral and religous principle, struggled (unsuccessfully) with sexuality. A myriad of affairs followed him and his mission from beginning to end. Frady has insightful things to say about the relationship between Dr. King's tortured, complex personal life and his public mission.

Frady also describes how near the end of his career with segregation on the decline in the South, Dr. King tried to expand his mission by opposing the war in Vietnam and by his "poor peoples campaign" which Dr. King saw as an attack on the materialism, impersonality, and greed that he found pervaded American life. In so expanding his mission, Dr. King alienated many of his followers. His lasting achievement does not rest upon these later activities, according to Frady, but rather upon the idealism and moral committment with which he was able to infuse American life during a few short years.

Frady gives us an eloquent discussion of Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech in Washington D.C. Later in his career, Dr King set forth his vision for America by speaking in terms of a "Beloved Community", a phrase adopted from the early 20th Century American philosopher, Josiah Royce. Dr King said (p. 183) "When I talk about power and the need for power, I'm talking in terms of the need for power to bring about ... the creation of the Beloved Community." Our nation is still trying to recover something of Dr. King's idealism and of the best of his vision.

This book encourages us to think about and to formulate for ourselves the vision of America as a "Beloved Community" by reflecting on the life and achievement of a complex man.

Rating:
Summary: An engaging story of a complex person.
Review: Marshall Frady's book is an invaluable addition to the historical, sociological, and psychological understanding of this country's race relations. In particular, he does not limit the story to what happened decades earlier, but relates the historical events to more recent history. Thankfully, the book treats Dr. King as a human being with faults (e.g., his insecurities, self-doubts, womanizing), and not as a saint (as sometimes portrayed in MLK day celebrations) or as a commodity (as marketed by his family). The value of discussing Dr. King honestly is that his vision for society is not limited to the saints, but can be more practically considered by us regular folks with our shortcomings.

Rating:
Summary: An engaging story of a complex person.
Review: Marshall Frady's book is an invaluable addition to the historical, sociological, and psychological understanding of this country's race relations. In particular, he does not limit the story to what happened decades earlier, but relates the historical events to more recent history. Thankfully, the book treats Dr. King as a human being with faults (e.g., his insecurities, self-doubts, womanizing), and not as a saint (as sometimes portrayed in MLK day celebrations) or as a commodity (as marketed by his family). The value of discussing Dr. King honestly is that his vision for society is not limited to the saints, but can be more practically considered by us regular folks with our shortcomings.

Rating:
Summary: Martin Luther King Jr.
Review: Martin Luther King Jr., born on January 15, 1929,was named after his father Martin Luther King Sr. King Sr. was the preacher at the local Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.Although, daily he spoke the truths of Christianity, his actions didn't always correspond with what he preached. In furies of rage Martin Luther King Sr. would often horribly beat his wife and children. Martin Luther King Jr. was so troubled by his father's beatings that he attempted killing himself three times.
At age fifteen, after graduating very early from highschool, the rather unmotivated King attended Morehouse College. After graduating from Morehouse, King went on to attend Cruzed Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania,where he was to become a preacher like his father. It was here that King seemingly grew up; he studied hard, became class president, and graduated as valdictorian. When King proposed to Coretta Scott in the early 1950s he was already engaged to a few other former girlfriends from back home. They married in 1953, spending their honeymoon night in the basement of a funeral parlor because the nearest hotels and motels were segregated.
In 1954 the newlyweds moved to Montgomery Alabama where the young King became the highly respected preacher at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.King's life would shortly change when he was asked to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott that lasted over a year.Eventually he joined the NAACP and began the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King was arrested several times for his non-violent actions. During one of these incidents he composed his famous "Letter From a Birmingham Jail." He befriended the Kennedy brothers (somewhat) in their effort to help the movement. On August 28, 1963 King recited his, "I have a dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, by a sniper, James Earl Ray.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful distillation of a complex man
Review: Simply put, this is the finest of the Penguin Lives series. It gives Dr. King in simple sentences, does not ignore the complexities of his life, and does not indulge in the myth making of previous biographers. You get the man, with his failures, successes, obsessions and ironies, all in one tight package. Wonderful read.

Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER VIEW
Review: Since his death in 1968, a plethora of books about Martin Luther King, Jr. has inundated the shelves of bookstores. Every angle about his life and work has been explored, critiqued and analyzed. Is there room for one more as we continue the quest for making King's dream for equality a reality? Penquin Lives says yes as it presents a brief biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. as seen through the eyes of a white southern reporter during the era, Marshall Frady.

Mr. Frady was one of those reporters assigned to interpret and bring some sense of clarity to the public about the rising civil rights movement and its major leader, King. As a young reporter, he carried out his mission and now as an older statesman of the press he gives us another view about King, his work and his impact on the national scene.

Martin Luther King, Jr. focuses on the success, failures and conflicts of a leader caught in a movement that swept him up into the pinacles of history. We see another dimension of King who is vain, unorganized, guilt ridden and a womanizer. His lieutenants are egotistical, mystical, self-serving and dedicated to the cause of freedom. King's genius in keepint these varied personalities in check for a greater cause is a testament to his genius.

Frady really doesn't tell the reader anything new about King that hasn't been said before. He merely encapsulates previous information into a format that is readily accessible to those who want to get a brief history of King and the movement but can't endure reading works of countless pages of information. In this Frady excels and does a fine job of being brief but doesn't offer the reader in better insights about the man.

I would recommend this book to those who want to get a brief snapshot of King from the perspective of a white southerner. Otherwise I would encourage readers to explore other books that give a more in depth look at the complex life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rating:
Summary: A Pretty Little Atrocity
Review: This book begins with a sentence fragment arguing that the age of white racism and Southern apartheid seems like ancient history. It ends by implying that it was really all for the best that Dr. King was shot when he was shot, as he was "passing irretrievably into decline." The stuff in between these two whoppers is cribbed from a range of authors, all of whom are vastly more qualified than Frady to have written this book for Penguin Lives.

Alas, I suspect Penguin is simply engaging in good marketing here. Yuppies buy most of the books, and this one is a perfect ego-stroke to yuppies. It lets you say you know something about MLK, without having your basic worldview challenged by a truthful presentation of his real meaning. Imagine Dr. King living to challenge our economic and political elites over several more decades. If you're smug and dumb enough to believe this wouldn't have mattered, you'll be happy to have Frady's tropes.

The book is a serious miseducation.

Rating:
Summary: Insights into a Man and his Times
Review: This is one of the best of the often excellent Penguin Lives series. Martin Luther King is presented as a real man with insecurities, self-doubts, college plagarizing and womanizing. But he is also shown as the key individual in the incredible progress (I know it doesn't feel like it--but read the book and its picture of the country in the fifties!) we have made in the area of race relations.

MLK is portrayed as a man who rose above his everydayness to achieve insights into the areas of race, poverty and oppression which would move a nation. Blessed in his enemies--the egregious Bull Connor, the banty rooster George Wallace (in his first incarnation) and the despicable J. Edgar Hoover--gave the nation a contrast in possibilities. Despite the reluctance of the Kennedys, the backbiting of his own lieutenants and the inconstancy of the national media, MLK made a difference. To read about his speech at the Linclon Memorial still gives me shivers.

This is a fair, honest portrait of a man who made a difference.