Alabama V. King - by Dan Abrams & Fred D Gray

Book Synopsis

"A story for the ages." --New York Times

The defense lawyer for Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, the Selma marchers and other civil rights heroes reveals the true story of the historic trial that made Dr. King a national hero.

Fred D. Gray was one of only two Black lawyers in Montgomery, Alabama, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus. The ensuing Montgomery bus boycott led Gray to become Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s defense lawyer and later, chief counsel for the protest movement. This trial--with eighty-nine indictments for violating the state's anti-boycott statute--was not going to be just any trial. It would be an attempt to launch a movement in a city fighting to preserve segregation.

With Gray's memories of the extraordinary events, as well as the transcribed words of King's vivid courtroom testimony, this book transports readers to the trial that sparked the Civil Rights Movement and introduced Martin Luther King Jr. to the world.

"Poignant, sometimes harrowing." --Wall Street Journal

Review Quotes

Praise for Dan Abrams and David Fisher

"Dan Abrams and David Fisher write the heart-pounding pulse of history." --Diane Sawyer on Lincoln's Last Trial

"Abrams and Fisher do a superb job of clearly presenting the issues in this remarkable and intensely dramatic trial."
--Scott Turow on Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense

"Abrams and Fisher are gifted writers, and their prose is neither overly spare nor showy; they're clearly fascinated by the trial, and their enthusiasm for their subject matter shows." --NPR on Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense

"The authors do a remarkable job of spinning the court transcripts into a fascinating tale of intrigue and underscoring the men and the issues at play."--Fredericksburg Book Review on John Adams Under Fire

"An engrossing, lively and expertly crafted courtroom drama filled with colorful characters and having significant resonance for the present."--Washington Post on Kennedy's Avenger

"Clear, straightforward writing and superb research that pays attention to tension as well as humor make this riveting courtroom drama that feels as alive as it did it 1963."--NPR on Kennedy's Avenger

Praise for Alabama v. King

"A fascinating story of grit, determination and courtroom acumen. ... The stirring tale of how an inexperienced 25-year-old lawyer, only two years out of law school, played a pivotal role in King's emergence as the 'American Gandhi' is a story for the ages."--The New York Times

"Poignant, sometimes harrowing."--Wall Street Journal