Marshall Frady, the reporter who became the unofficial chronicler of the civil rights movement, here re-creates the life and turbulent times of its inspirational leader. Deftly interweaving the story of King’s quest with a history of the African American struggle for equality, Frady offers fascinating insights into his subject’s magnetic character, with its mixture of piety and ambition. He explores the complexities of King’s relationships with other civil rights leaders, the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover, who conducted a relentless vendetta against him. The result is a biography that conveys not just the facts of King’s life but the power of his legacy.
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"A fresh and balanced take on the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Frady took care revealing the darker side of King's life while simultaneously showing the good that came out of his work. For it's relatively short length, the book does the job of a biography fantastically well."
— Aidan (4 out of 5 stars)
" The great thing about this book is not only that Frady had a front seat to the Civil Rights struggle and uses that experience to write an excellent book. It is that he upsets most of the conventional wisdom surrounding King and puts his greatness in a more human light. "
— Brian, 2/11/2014" Good book. It didn't try to portray him as a saint but the author clearly was fond of the guy. My take on it was that Martin Luther King REALLY struggled controlling his sex drive. I've had to separate what I think of him as a civil rights activist and what I personally think of adulterers. "
— Anita, 1/19/2014" I feel like biographies are best written by people who had no connection with their particular subject. This book is the reason why. Marshall Frady does a good job of putting together facts and perceptions about Dr. King that many may not have wished to be public - I appreciate that - it makes him more human and relatable. But. Frady also did not like the man at all. And it comes across through every word in the book. The wording feels like a personal judgment/vendetta on a man who greatly shaped the latter half of 20th century America - against much opposition. It even goes to such lengths as to put down Dr. King's family for selling his likeness post-assassination, etc. - when they depended on him solely for financial support during his life. I wonder what Frady's biography would look like. Would he be the standard of the perfect man he held Dr. King against? "
— Rachel, 12/29/2013" "I'm xxxxing for God". The one sentence that took away most of the respect I have for Dr. King. #Adulterer. But good book I think "
— Imran, 12/24/2013" The backbone of the book is good - a concise story of his life. The downside of the book is that I felt the author was trying to impress upon the reader his intelligence, by the use of his vocabulary. He used an eight letter word when a four letter one would have sufficed - "
— John, 12/3/2013" Concise, interesting, very moving. The first chapter is worth the price of admission. "
— Christopher, 11/20/2013" This is a very eye opening book. "
— Brady, 9/9/2013" King's civil disobedience who helps me point to an important model of non-violence as a response for us all to consider in today's world of volatility. "
— Dan, 8/19/2013" This was an adequate review of MLK's life. Would have rather read a more in-depth bio, but this is what I could get my hands on in time for the discussion "
— Rita, 6/16/2012" A powerful story, well-told. "
— Steve, 10/15/2011" The book MARTIN LUTHER KING JR:A LIFE by Marshall Frady depicts in amazing continet.This book is mostly about martin luther king fighting for freedom.HE changed the world by giving everybody rights. I would recommend this book to any people that are against racism. "
— Cynthiac, 4/5/2011" A very quick, yet interesting read (almost a summary, really, at only 200 pages) of MLK's life. The author almost worships MLK, but he does include in the biography many negative facts (i.e., the numerous afairs, the plagairizng, etc.) so the book isn't totally one-sided. "
— Aaron, 4/4/2011" it shows me that love,friendship has no color "
— Gina, 2/20/2011" I try to read this every year around this time. "
— Jon, 2/20/2011" A very quick, yet interesting read (almost a summary, really, at only 200 pages) of MLK's life. The author almost worships MLK, but he does include in the biography many negative facts (i.e., the numerous afairs, the plagairizng, etc.) so the book isn't totally one-sided. "
— Aaron, 1/8/2011" it shows me that love,friendship has no color "
— Gina, 5/30/2008" I try to read this every year around this time. "
— Jon, 8/3/2007