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Hellhound On His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin Audiobook
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(4.00) - 3,141 listener ratings
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NATIONAL BESTSELLER Edgar Award Nominee One of the Best Books of the Year: O, The Oprah Magazine, Time, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, San Francisco Chronicle
With a New Afterword
On April 4, 1968, James Earl Ray shot Martin Luther King at the Lorraine Motel. The nation was shocked, enraged, and saddened. As chaos erupted across the country and mourners gathered at King's funeral, investigators launched a sixty-five day search for King’s assassin that would lead them across two continents. With a blistering, cross-cutting narrative that draws on a wealth of dramatic unpublished documents, Hampton Sides, bestselling author of Ghost Soldiers, delivers a non-fiction thriller in the tradition of William Manchester's The Death of a President and Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. With Hellhound On His Trail, Sides shines a light on the largest manhunt in American history and brings it to life for all to see.
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"Sides is an outstanding writer who can shape massively detailed research into a kind of psychological thriller. He keeps you asking questions like is Erik Galt really James Earl Ray, what is Ray's background, was he acting alone? In addition we get the historical context of Civil Rights movement, particularly interesting to me, since I lived this history! It is ironic that we were listening to this when the assassination attempt on Gabby Giffords was made."
— Lynne (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Knowing how the era-defining story ends doesn’t make these parallel portraits of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the man who killed him any less riveting.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine -
“Searing…A complex crime mystery that shifts the focus from Dr. King to his killer…Gripping.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“A riveting recreation of a tragedy…Through Sides’ use of novelistic pacing, details, and descriptions, he creates suspense that will propel readers through a slice of history.”
— USA Today -
“Viscerally dramatic…Spellbinding…Both Dr. King and Ray come to life in these remarkable pages.”
— New York Times -
“A taut, vibrant account…Chilling in detail and particularly haunting in evoking the confusion and pathos in the minutes following the single crack of Ray’s rifle.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“Enlightening…A valuable contribution to the historical record [and] a memorable and persuasive portrait.”
— Washington Post -
“Nail-bitingly riveting.”
— Newsday -
“Remarkable journalism…Compulsively readable…[Sides] writes…with a passion that resonates…Compelling.”
— Dallas Morning News -
“Gripping, exciting, and engrossing…Hits us with the shuddering intensity of a high-speed collision.”
— Times (London) -
“Remarkable…A window on the passions and contradictions of an era.”
— Christian Science Monitor -
“Sides’ meticulous yet driving account of Ray’s plot to murder King and the 68-day international manhunt that followed is in essence a true-crime story and a splendid specimen of the genre—a genuine corker.”
— Salon -
“A carefully researched and crisply written account…Sides crafts careful profiles of his major characters.”
— St. Louis Post-Dispatch -
“Extraordinary…Remarkable journalism.”
— San Francisco Chronicle -
“Impossible to put down…A masterful work of narrative nonfiction, no one does it better than Hampton Sides.”
— Associated Press -
“Meticulously researched, reads like nothing so much as a novel…creating plenty of plain old-fashioned suspense that makes the reader’s heart pound.”
— Oregonian -
“As urgent a page-turner as any crime novel—a feat Sides accomplishes without sacrificing historical detail and insight.”
— St. Petersburg Times -
“An authoritative, engrossing narrative…Thoroughly researched but executed with the pacing of a fine novel and a dash of top-notch police procedural…Meticulous.”
— Miami Herald
Awards
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A 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Best Book for Nonfiction
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A 2010 Washington Post Best Book for Nonfiction
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A 2010 Christian Science Monitor Book of the Year for Nonfiction
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A New York Times bestseller
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A 2010 Time Magazine Top 10 Book for Nonfiction
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A 2010 O Magazine Best Book in Nonfiction
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A 2011 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee for Best Fact Crime
Hellhound On His Trail Listener Reviews
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" Hampton Sides has done a remarkable job of recreating the events surrounding the death of Dr. King. In particular, his description of James Earl Ray’s motivation and mindset is tragic as well as disturbing. "
— Greg Winterbutn, 11/7/2018 -
" My buddy and I were discussing the topic of MLK and he recommended this book. It Was a page turner and I couldn't stop. It captures a lot of info and really detailed and chilling facts about MLKs death. Hampton Sides is an amazing author. "
— Terence, 2/20/2014 -
" Good read but it helped being in Memphis at the time of the shooting. "
— Joe, 2/8/2014 -
" Great nonfiction book that reads like fiction. The depth of the author's research and great storytelling makes this fly by. I definitely recommend this book. "
— Anna, 2/6/2014 -
" This book is captivating! "
— Sheryl, 2/2/2014 -
" Amazingly thorough without ever dragging. "
— Kate, 1/24/2014 -
" Stunning book in its depth and detail. "
— Tim, 1/23/2014 -
" Fascinating look at what happened during those fateful years. "
— Nancy, 1/21/2014 -
" Even though I know the story about the assassination of Martin Luther King this book was really interesting, well researched, and well written. "
— Gwen, 1/9/2014 -
" Fascinating story. I enjoyed how skillfully the author told the facts--it read like a novel but was completely factual. The suspense of the chase built very nicely. I enjoyed the colorful portrayal of figures like J. Edgar Hoover. "
— Elisa, 1/3/2014 -
" An exciting work of narrative history - the author bounces back & forth between James Earl Ray and MLK JR, leading up to that fateful night in Memphis... and then continues on through the manhunt & capture of Ray following the assassination. "
— Mark, 12/11/2013 -
" I really enjoyed the book if one can use the word for something so tragic. It answered alot of questions, though the big ones of motive and whether or not Ray acted completely alone still seemed up in the air. "
— Colleen, 10/4/2013 -
" You might think that a book so richly detailed as this would bog you down. In fact, it's the details that add context and propulsion. Hampton Sides weaves the trail of Dr. King with the more circuitous, opaque road that James Earl Ray took which eventually brought them both to Memphis. Compelling. "
— Edward, 9/10/2013 -
" Very interesting book on the assassination of MLK and the ensuing manhunt for James Earl Ray. "
— Andy, 7/23/2013 -
" Very interesting story of the man who killed MLK. I feel confident after reading it that James Earl Ray was a psycho who acted alone. The book was so well researched and written that I already ordered another book by Hampton Sides. Great book. "
— John, 5/27/2013 -
" Stephanie Lincoln recommended. "
— Lucy, 5/23/2013 -
" You would think that for someone who likes history as much I me, I'd already know a lot about the MLK Jr assassination but I was surprised at how much I learned. The book was well written...reminded me of The Devil in The White City. "
— Rebecca, 1/27/2013 -
" Wow. I learned so much. More later..... "
— Seeking, 1/11/2013 -
" Another good book by a good writer "
— Joel, 12/3/2012 -
" The book is written like a novel . . . easy to read how (not why) James Earl Ray goes after MLK, and how the FBI went after him. "
— Linnet, 11/10/2012 -
" Very well written and informative. I love books like this because I never knew this even happened. Outside him being killed everything else was news to me. "
— Spence, 8/17/2012 -
" A really great book to listen to, well written and very interesting. "
— Kimberlee, 6/8/2012 -
" I would highly recommend this book as a very readable history. More than just the story of James Earl Ray and the assasination of MLK. I learned things about the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, Lyndon Johnson and so many more. My only wish was that more photos had been included. "
— Nannie, 9/8/2011 -
" I learned a lot I did not know about that time, but it wasn't gripping reading, as I had thought I heard. "
— Madeline, 7/30/2011 -
" I read this book because I knew nothing about the man that killed MLK. I was amazed by James Early Ray and the things that we was able to do. Escape prison twice and be on the run for almost 2 years. Truly a man with mental issues. I recommend this book to everyone. "
— Alisha, 6/6/2011 -
" Strange that factual information can be made into a page-turner..but that is what Sides created so well in this tale of Dr. King's assassin. "
— vicki, 5/21/2011 -
" Excellent research and good writing make this a compelling read. I couldn't put it down! "
— Vivian, 5/13/2011 -
" Hampton Sides builds tension and suspense in the true story of James Earl Ray. Even though I knew what was going to happen, it read like the best thriller. Another great example of putting history in context, teaching and thrilling at the same time. Loved it! "
— Joel, 5/3/2011 -
" An interesting historical nonfiction account of the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. by Eric Gault better known as James Earl Ray. Brings to life America during the civil rights movement by writing side by side accounts of what each man was doing during the same time period. "
— Gail, 4/26/2011 -
" I don't think that I learned anything in public school. This book is good because it reads as a story versus historical book. Maybe all history books should be like that. "
— Missyreid, 4/13/2011 -
" Wow! This was a great read, history come alive, very compelling. "
— Robin, 4/13/2011 -
" This book was fantastic! Could not put it down and learned so much. "
— Hillary, 4/4/2011 -
" Extremely well research and written....an incredible story about an incredible time in our history. "
— Sheila, 4/1/2011
About Hampton Sides
Hampton Sides, a native of Memphis, is an award-winning editor of Outside and the author of the bestselling histories Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers. He lives in New Mexico with his wife and their three sons.