Martin Luther King, Jr. - Penguin Lives Biographies by Marshall Frady Paperback

About the Book

Re-creating the life and turbulent times of the civil rights movement's inspirational leader, the author offers fascinating insights into his subject's magnetic character and explores the complexities of King's relationships with other civil rights leaders, the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, and the FBIUs J. Edgar Hoover.

Book Synopsis

"a quick introduction to the life of a great American" -- The New York Times

An inspiring portrait of the incredible life and lasting influence of Dr. Martin Luther King

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.

Review Quotes

"Just the introductory chapter... is worth a good nineteenths of all the literature the movement produced or inspired." --Arkansas Times

"Commendable... An excellent introduction to that man who was King." --Los Angeles Times

"potent and illuminating" -- Publishers Weekly

"dramatically written and accurate in its details...a quick introduction to the life of a great American" -- The New York Times

About the Author

Marshall Frady (1940-2004) was a veteran journalist who wrote for Newsweek, Harper's, and The New Yorker. He was also a correspondent for Nightline and ABC News. His books include Wallace, a biography ofGeorge Wallace, and Jesse: The Life and Pilgrimage of Jesse Jackson.