"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.
A native South Carolinian, Marshall Frady has been a journalist for more than 25 years, writing principally on political figures and racial and social tensions in the American culture, first as a correspondent for Newsweek, then for Life, Harper's, Esquire, The New York Review of Books, The Sunday Times (London), The Atlantic Monthly, and most recently The New Yorker. In the 1980s, he was chief writer and correspondent for ABC News Closeup and a correspondent for Nightline. He is the author of the acclaimed biographies Wallace and Billy Graham: A Parable of American Righteousness.  View titles by Marshall Frady
"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

About

"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.

Author

A native South Carolinian, Marshall Frady has been a journalist for more than 25 years, writing principally on political figures and racial and social tensions in the American culture, first as a correspondent for Newsweek, then for Life, Harper's, Esquire, The New York Review of Books, The Sunday Times (London), The Atlantic Monthly, and most recently The New Yorker. In the 1980s, he was chief writer and correspondent for ABC News Closeup and a correspondent for Nightline. He is the author of the acclaimed biographies Wallace and Billy Graham: A Parable of American Righteousness.  View titles by Marshall Frady

Praise

"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

Books for Women’s History Month

In honor of Women’s History Month in March, we are sharing books by women who have shaped history and have fought for their communities. Our list includes books about women who fought for racial justice, abortion rights, equality in the workplace, and ranges in topics from women in politics and prominent women in history to

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