Book Description

William Pepper was a young journalist, just back from Vietnam, when he first met Martin Luther King Jr. His photographs and first-hand accounts of the war prompted King's unflinching commitment to oppose it. On April 15, 1967, Pepper proposed an alternative to the re-election of Lyndon Johnson to a cheering New York crowd. Dr. Benjamin Spock was to be King's running mate highlighting an anti-poverty and antiwar agenda. A year later Martin Luther King Jr. was killed. The movement for social and economic change in the US has never been substantially, successfully revived.

Doubts raised from an initial ten- year investigation and hours of interrogations of James Earl Ray prompted Pepper to take up his case. The King family, persuaded by the growing evidence, joined his struggle in 1996. At the 1999 trial seventy witnesses under oath set out the details of the conspiracy and the jury took an hour to find for the King family. It was ruled that a wide-running conspiracy existed and that government agents were involved. The story was effectively buried.

An Act of State lays out, in hair-raising detail, the facts of the case as it evolved. These tell a tragic story of King's powerful and significant radicalism, government plans for his execution that involved the military and the FBI, media cover-ups, and the corporate forces that were already claiming their hold on the nation's polity. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

News fit to print, but...
This is the account of King lawyer William Pepper's pursuit of the facts in the King assassination, and his denouement of the evidence, centering on the successful civil suit of Lloyd Jowers, a local resident with a business across the street from the motel murder site and with a connection to the murder, which led to the unraveling. The credentials of the ringleaders and perpetrates are very impressive indeed and include J. Edgar ('the' J. Edgar),the CIA, FBI, Memphis Police Department and assorted sordid Mob hoodlums. That's quite a team. But then the motive appears to have centered on the decision by Martin Luther King to bring the focus of his movement on poverty and the Vietnam War. It took the jury one hour to decide that:
1. Yes--Lloyd Jowers participated in a conspiracy to do harm to Martin Luther King

2. Yes--Others including governmental agencies were parties to this conspiracy as alleged by the defendant.
This should have been headline news, but the story never survived, and it wasn't news to me until I stumbled on the book in the library, and I read a lot of books.
I hope you find out too.

A Clouded Light
I'm new to the details of the King assassination, and though I lived through that period the details, as I recall, were never made clear unlike the previous JFK murder. It was pretty clear, however, that the killing was a coordinated effort by shadowy background forces, and not even the government pressed its usual lone assassin case very hard. The result was a lot of loose ends awaiting real investigation. This is Pepper's second book on the topic. I wish I had read the first one before picking up this one, because An Act of State does not serve well as an introduction. Instead of summarizing the official story and introducing the principals, the opening chapters plunge us into subsequent developments, which for newcomers like myself risks confusion from the outset. Moreover the work as a whole is neither well organized nor cogently edited creating additional obstacles for the uninitiated. Nonetheless, there are so many fascinating factual aspects brought to light by Pepper, that the book stands as a must read for those interested in America's hidden history. So for those with a skimpy background such as myself, either prep with a better intoduction or be prepared to sort through as best you can. The results speak volumes.

Chilling Indictment
An Act Of State--The Execution Of Martin Luther King--is a chilling indictment of the deadly madness that was rampant through American Society in the 1960s. The book systematically overturns the Government's ... case against James Earl Ray as Martin Luther King's assassin. Instead, it paints a series of powerful vignettes that appear to implicate various agencies of the Federal Government, elements of of the Memphis Police Department, other of the City's Municipal units, and pieces of the Carlos Marcello Mob in New Orleans, in planning and covering up Dr. King's tragic murder. This crime robbed the nation of its greatest leader for social justice in the twentieth century--a loss we as a nation may never recoup. Dr. Pepper relentlessly assembles a body of evidence: circumstantial, eye witness, and admissible hearsay that would prove his case beyond a reasonable doubt before an impartial court of public opinion. And perhaps this is the most haunting aspect of the tragic murder of an American icon:How free are we as a people and a culture when the truth cannot be told? How free are we when evidence and news is managed and withheld? How far our separation from the Body Of Laws we celebrate in our flag, anthems, hymns, and pledges?Dare I whisper: far. Bob Lupo, author, A Buffalo's Revenge, and Extremities-4.

If a tree falls in the forest...
I found this book to be incredibly enlightening. Unless you still believe in the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, and Oswald's Magic Bullet, you will most likely be impressed by the evidence that William Pepper has uncovered and laid out in exhaustive detail in this book.
If nothing else, "An Act of State" sheds more light on the Martin Luther King who had so much to offer after the "I Have a Dream" speech, and why he was considered so dangerous by so many people.
William Pepper's own words about democracy and the destiny of the U.S.A. are also quite thought-provoking, as well as being appropriate to the material he presents.
Read this book!!

Essential reading
In December of 1999, the Circuit Court in Memphis, Tennessee determined that the U.S. government, at the federal, state and local levels participated in the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Why? What was King's vision and strategy in 1967 and 1968? Why are these years of King always obscured by the media? Who's interests did they threaten?

Read this book and find out.

"There are millions of poor people in this country who have very little, or even nothing, to lose. If they can be helped to take action together, they will do so with a freedom and a power that will be a new and unsettling force in our complacent national life." -Martin Luther King ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Dreaded Assignment becomes Starvation for More
I was given this book to read as an assignment in my Sociology class at college. I dreaded reading the book and put the assignment off as long as I could. However,once I started reading I could not put it down. Huie does a great job, through his interviews and quest for the truth, at putting you as close to the people and events of this historical time as one possibly could. It displays the most extreme and openly admitted amount of prejudice toward the African Americans held by the citizens of the state of Mississippi during the 1960's.

Buy it!
What makes this book interesting is that it was written between the murders and the trial. Huie knew who the murderers were, how they did it, and never expected a guilty verdict.

The book introduces you in detail to Michael (Mickey) Schwerener and all the details leading up to his murder. This detail will help you understand exactly why and how these murders took place.

This latest edition includes updates by the author to compare his early speculation against the results of the trial. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Unheroic in appearance, given to "deacon-sober suits" and "ponderous gravity," Martin Luther King Jr. ushered in an epochal era of change in the United States. Closely watching King'sjourney from Montgomery to Birmingham to the Lincoln Memorial to Memphis was journalist Marshall Frady, who honors the minister's achievement and spirit in this lucid biography.

"Almost a geological age ago, it seems now--that great moral saga of belief and violence that unfolded in the musky deeps of the South during the civil rights movement of the fifties and sixties." So Frady opens his account, which traces King's transformation from withdrawn, unconfident child to eloquent champion of the oppressed, ever unafraid to trouble the waters. Frady explores King's conflicts, contradictions, and triumphs, as well as the great personal cost he bore in urging nonviolent change in a singularly violent time.

Part of the excellent Penguin Lives series, this slender volume sheds much light on a prophet now honored, but still too little understood. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr., born on January 15, 1929,was named after his father Martin Luther King Sr. King Sr. was the preacher at the local Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.Although, daily he spoke the truths of Christianity, his actions didn't always correspond with what he preached. In furies of rage Martin Luther King Sr. would often horribly beat his wife and children. Martin Luther King Jr. was so troubled by his father's beatings that he attempted killing himself three times.
At age fifteen, after graduating very early from highschool, the rather unmotivated King attended Morehouse College. After graduating from Morehouse, King went on to attend Cruzed Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania,where he was to become a preacher like his father. It was here that King seemingly grew up; he studied hard, became class president, and graduated as valdictorian. When King proposed to Coretta Scott in the early 1950s he was already engaged to a few other former girlfriends from back home. They married in 1953, spending their honeymoon night in the basement of a funeral parlor because the nearest hotels and motels were segregated.
In 1954 the newlyweds moved to Montgomery Alabama where the young King became the highly respected preacher at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.King's life would shortly change when he was asked to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott that lasted over a year.Eventually he joined the NAACP and began the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King was arrested several times for his non-violent actions. During one of these incidents he composed his famous "Letter From a Birmingham Jail." He befriended the Kennedy brothers (somewhat) in their effort to help the movement. On August 28, 1963 King recited his, "I have a dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, by a sniper, James Earl Ray.

ANOTHER VIEW
Since his death in 1968, a plethora of books about Martin Luther King, Jr. has inundated the shelves of bookstores. Every angle about his life and work has been explored, critiqued and analyzed. Is there room for one more as we continue the quest for making King's dream for equality a reality? Penquin Lives says yes as it presents a brief biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. as seen through the eyes of a white southern reporter during the era, Marshall Frady.

Mr. Frady was one of those reporters assigned to interpret and bring some sense of clarity to the public about the rising civil rights movement and its major leader, King. As a young reporter, he carried out his mission and now as an older statesman of the press he gives us another view about King, his work and his impact on the national scene.

Martin Luther King, Jr. focuses on the success, failures and conflicts of a leader caught in a movement that swept him up into the pinacles of history. We see another dimension of King who is vain, unorganized, guilt ridden and a womanizer. His lieutenants are egotistical, mystical, self-serving and dedicated to the cause of freedom. King's genius in keepint these varied personalities in check for a greater cause is a testament to his genius.

Frady really doesn't tell the reader anything new about King that hasn't been said before. He merely encapsulates previous information into a format that is readily accessible to those who want to get a brief history of King and the movement but can't endure reading works of countless pages of information. In this Frady excels and does a fine job of being brief but doesn't offer the reader in better insights about the man.

I would recommend this book to those who want to get a brief snapshot of King from the perspective of a white southerner. Otherwise I would encourage readers to explore other books that give a more in depth look at the complex life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King and Moral Struggle
In a short space, Marshall Frady has written an informative, inspiring and thoughtful biography of Martin Luther King Jr., of the nature of his achievement, of his America, and of his vision. The book does not engage in hero-worship or myth-making but rather presents Dr. King as a tortured.conflicted, and lonely individual. Frady writes at the close of his introduction (p.10) (itself a wonderful summation of the book and of Dr. King's achievement): "And what the full-bodied reality of King should finally tell us, beyond all the awe and celebration of him, is how mysteriously mixed, in what torturously complicated frms, our moral heroes -- our prophets --actually come to us."

A theme of this book is how Dr. King's moral vision and achievement emerged from moral conflict. Dr King spent most of his career walking a difficult path between extremes. At the beginning of his career, he was criticized by the more conservative black establishment which preferred to use the courts rather than demonstrations as a means to promote racial equality. Indeed, Frady tells us, the Mongomery bus boycott of 1955, which catapaulted Dr. King into national prominence, did not end the segregation of the city's bus system -- a court decision did.

Towards the end of his career, black leaders such as Malcolm X and Stokely Charmichael pressured Dr. King to abandon his philosophy of nonviolence. He did not do so. But Frady shows us how Dr. King and Malcolm X near the end of their lives each learned something from the other.

King's most difficult moral struggle was with himself. Frady gives us a convincing picture of how Dr. King, whose appeal rested upon an ability to convey moral and religous principle, struggled (unsuccessfully) with sexuality. A myriad of affairs followed him and his mission from beginning to end. Frady has insightful things to say about the relationship between Dr. King's tortured, complex personal life and his public mission.

Frady also describes how near the end of his career with segregation on the decline in the South, Dr. King tried to expand his mission by opposing the war in Vietnam and by his "poor peoples campaign" which Dr. King saw as an attack on the materialism, impersonality, and greed that he found pervaded American life. In so expanding his mission, Dr. King alienated many of his followers. His lasting achievement does not rest upon these later activities, according to Frady, but rather upon the idealism and moral committment with which he was able to infuse American life during a few short years.

Frady gives us an eloquent discussion of Dr. King's "I have a dream" speech in Washington D.C. Later in his career, Dr King set forth his vision for America by speaking in terms of a "Beloved Community", a phrase adopted from the early 20th Century American philosopher, Josiah Royce. Dr King said (p. 183) "When I talk about power and the need for power, I'm talking in terms of the need for power to bring about ... the creation of the Beloved Community." Our nation is still trying to recover something of Dr. King's idealism and of the best of his vision.

This book encourages us to think about and to formulate for ourselves the vision of America as a "Beloved Community" by reflecting on the life and achievement of a complex man.

A Pretty Little Atrocity
This book begins with a sentence fragment arguing that the age of white racism and Southern apartheid seems like ancient history. It ends by implying that it was really all for the best that Dr. King was shot when he was shot, as he was "passing irretrievably into decline." The stuff in between these two whoppers is cribbed from a range of authors, all of whom are vastly more qualified than Frady to have written this book for Penguin Lives.

Alas, I suspect Penguin is simply engaging in good marketing here. Yuppies buy most of the books, and this one is a perfect ego-stroke to yuppies. It lets you say you know something about MLK, without having your basic worldview challenged by a truthful presentation of his real meaning. Imagine Dr. King living to challenge our economic and political elites over several more decades. If you're smug and dumb enough to believe this wouldn't have mattered, you'll be happy to have Frady's tropes.

The book is a serious miseducation.

Insights into a Man and his Times
This is one of the best of the often excellent Penguin Lives series. Martin Luther King is presented as a real man with insecurities, self-doubts, college plagarizing and womanizing. But he is also shown as the key individual in the incredible progress (I know it doesn't feel like it--but read the book and its picture of the country in the fifties!) we have made in the area of race relations.

MLK is portrayed as a man who rose above his everydayness to achieve insights into the areas of race, poverty and oppression which would move a nation. Blessed in his enemies--the egregious Bull Connor, the banty rooster George Wallace (in his first incarnation) and the despicable J. Edgar Hoover--gave the nation a contrast in possibilities. Despite the reluctance of the Kennedys, the backbiting of his own lieutenants and the inconstancy of the national media, MLK made a difference. To read about his speech at the Linclon Memorial still gives me shivers.

This is a fair, honest portrait of a man who made a difference. ... Read more

Book Description

Archimedes, the discoverer of the lever, said that if he had a place to stand, he could move the world. But, of course, there is no such place to stand. However, on April 27, 1521, a young monk from a small town in Germany declared before the powers of his day, who demanded that he take back his faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that his conscience was bound by the Word of God. "Here I stand," he declared.

A PLACE TO STAND summarizes the German reformer's life and topically treats his worldview, inspiring readers to delve deeper into the man whose contribution to the betterment of the world LIFE magazine in 2000 ranked as the third most significant of all time and the TORONTO GLOBE & MAIL ranked number two. Nearly five centuries after his time, we can see that Martin Luther indeed had a place to stand. And he did move the world. ... Read more

Book Description

The Lift and Death of Martin Luther King, Jr.

On April 4, 1968, a shot rang out in Memphis, Tennessee, killing the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The leader of the civil rights movement was dead, felled by an assassin's bullet. Who was Martin Luther King, and why do we remember him? Award-winning author James Haskins chronicles Dr. King's life and the circumstances surrounding his death. With an afterword.

Reviews (2)

Great Book!
This book was about the life of a hero, Martin Luther King, Jr. It tells us how he served his community. There were interesting pictures. Our fifth grade class learned a lot about African-American history through this book.

I very much enjoyed this factual book
I feel that this book was written very thoroughly. It included indepth facts that really let the reader know what happened. This book was obviously researched heavily, and I congradulate the author on writing such a magnificent book. Although it was not really my choice in reading this book, I am glad that I had, for it has greatly enhanced my knowledge of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. I, being a fifteen year old sophomore student of Penn High School, find this a great book to use in researching Dr. King's past events, assassination, murder(s), and conspiracy theories. It was well written, and could be easily understood by young readers. I would highly recommend this book to readers of all ages. -Thank You ... Read more

Book Description

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s ideashis call for racial equality, hisfaith in the ultimate triumph of justice, his insistence on the power ofnonviolence to bring about a major transformation of American societyare asvital and timely as ever. The wealth of his writings, both published andunpublished, is now preserved in this authoritative, chronologically arrangedmulti-volume edition. Volume III chronicles the Montgomery bus boycott of 1956and Dr. King's emergence as a public figure who attracted internationalattention. Included is the galvanizing speech he gave on the first day of thebus boycott, transcribed from a fragile tape recording and published here in itsentirety for the first time. Also included are his remarks to an angry crowdafter the bombing of his home and his powerful speech at the 1956 NAACPconvention. King's words from this period reveal the evolution of hisdistinctive blend of Christian and Gandhian ideas and show his appreciation ofthe broader significance of the Montgomery movement, a protest that revealed the"longing for human dignity that motivates oppressed people all over the world."The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. is a testament to a man whose life andteaching continue to have a profound influence not only on Americans, but onpeople of all nations. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Another book on MLK? Yes -- and perhaps the best one yet
I reviewed this volume for the Southern Communication Journal and found it to be one of the most comprehensive historical compilations to address the American Civil Rights movement. Kudos to Carson for undertaking such an ambitious project. In an age of sensationalism and revisionist histories, Carson and the rest of the King Papers Project have shown that accurate documentation, rather than speculation, yields priceless insight into King and the Montgomery bus protest, a key event in the American Civil Rights movement.

This volume combines letters (to and from King), speeches, newspaper articles, and other texts to illustrate the King's depth. We see his religious upbringing, as evidenced in the influences of Ghandi and Christianity; his talent as a minister and an administrator, suggested by the National Baptist Convention's invitation to serve them as their president; and his intellectual aptitudes, shown in the strategy he employed in the Montgomery protest. His decision to move toward incremental change (with full equality as a long-term end) is a major reason why the Montgomery movement succeeded. Had he opted for an all-or-nothing, now-or-never approach, he would have encountered greater resistance, and the movement might have ended while achieving little or no progress. Instead, he lobbied for minor changes in an effort to gain momentum for the larger movement -- an approach dismissed by more radical members of the African-American community. For its insights into King the preacher, King the scholar, King the strategic activist, this text is a valuable addition to the legacy of arguably the most influential American of the last century -- and likely the most influential one never to serve as U.S. President. ... Read more

Book Description

"This is the best compact biography of Martin Luther King available." - James R. Ralph, author of Northern Protest

Who was Martin Luther King, Jr.? A successful reformer or a failed revolutionary? A maker of the movement or a product of it?In a powerful reinvestigation of both the man and the cause, this brilliant new biography deftly traces how King grew into his leadership role, and grew stronger in faith after 1965 as the movement itself weakened and the challenges deepened. Historian Peter Ling chronicles King's seven-year struggle to transfer successful leadership of the Montgomery Bus Boycott onto the national stage. He reveals the ambiguities and fragility of his nonviolent protest methods, even during their period of greatest apparent success (1963-1965), and celebrates King's, heroic, though failing efforts to develop nonviolence as a means of addressing ghetto inequalities and opposing America's involvement in Vietnam. By the time of his murder, Lings shows, King knew he was "going for broke," and developed more radical stances in the face of a strengthening right-wing counter-movement. Capturing the drama, irony, and pathos of King's life, this textured, accessible biography gives proper weight to the contentious final two years of King's life. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Solid and Concise Biography
In his biography, Peter J Ling attempts to inform the reader about the book's subject in less than three hundred pages what other writers such as David Garrow described in books over twice the length. It is fair to say he has succeeded; the main incidents and themes of King's life are given a good and balanced treatment, such as the Montgomery bus boycotts, his stance on the Vietnam war, through to his assassination and its effect on the world.

Early on in the book, Ling quotes a fellow civil rights activist who claimed "Martin didn't make the movement, the movement made Martin". The whole book appears to be an attempt to assess that statement - of whether King really was the saviour and hero he is perceived as being today, or whether he was simply swept along in a media ride and has been immortalised since his early death. Although it is never explicitly stated, Ling appears to lean toward the latter argument, but never does so without denying King's greatness or without credible evidence.

Although the prose is well written and lucid, my only complaint would be that Ling does not seem to have the same passion for King's life that others who have covered the same topic, such as Stephen Oates and Michael Eric Dyson. He mentions throughout the book that biographies should not be trusted by those serious in studying history, because they tend to exaggerate the achievements of the individual. Perhaps that is why his love for the subject never completely shines through.

Whatever disagreements readers may have with it, it is a welcome addition to the King biography shelf because of its concise style and unbiased manner. A suitable book for students of King's life.


... Read more

Book Description

When he was a young man, Martin Luther King wanted a career helping people. He felt that as a minister he could speak out against racial injustice. Following the example of the Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. King chose nonviolence as the keystone of his fight for civil rights.

Dr. King became a leader of the civil rights movement. In 1955, he helped to organize the famous Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott. Freedom rides, sit-ins, and protest marches strengthened the battle against discrimination. As a result of these, in 1964 the United States Congress passed the historic Civil Rights Bill.

Dr. King received world acclaim when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Congress has recently established a national holiday commemorating the birthday of this great man who courageously led a peaceful struggle for equal rights for all Americans. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Black Star
This book was absolutely fabulous. It tells you many troubles black people went through in the 1960's. I learned so much about how hard Martin's life was and all the ups and downs he went through just for what he believed in. I thought he was the best leader ever. I don't want to tell you too much because you should read it for yourself. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Thorough, Accurate and Interesting Reading
This definitive bio of Luther in three volumes, is here in the second volume capturing the middles period, 1521-1532. Here the implications of the theological reform were being carried out.

Amazingly, the impact of the freeing of the monasteries and nunneries is immense. From there the liturgical reforms and political with the Phesants War loom large as well.

All culminates at Augsburg, with the remarkable Confession, weak Confutation, and subsequent Apology to the Augustana.

Brecht certainly is meticulous and careful historian, whose documentation is precise and enormous in its breath and depth. This set will stand the test for years and be of great asset to all those seeking to follow this amazing follower of Christ to the life of the world. ... Read more

Book Description

Recognizing from Romans 1 that God gives believers in Christ a positive righteousness, Luther refused to be silenced and became the great reformer. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

MEET THE REFORMERS' ANCHOR-POINT
This German-born Martin Luther was the most prominent of all the Sixteenth Century reformers (as well as counter-reformers). His life became his religious struggle. Though he won some and lost some, he became a symbol of religious defiance to his adversaries, and an anchor-point to his disciples.
This book did not detail us on the reason why some of his co-reformers parted ways with him; but I did enjoy the time I invested on reading it.

interesting light reading
I picked this up at a Christian book store for half price. This is an abridged book in a series on famous Christians (mostly Protestant). The author, who is clearly sympathetic with Luther's cause, devotes more attention to Luther's personal relationships and political struggle than to his theology. However, this is probably appropriate for the intended audience (the book store located it near the young readers' section). I can't compare the book to others since this is the first I've read on the topic, but I've personally found it to be an enjoyable read. ... Read more

Book Description

Tells the amazing story of struggle and triumph of one of the greatest Civil Rights leaders.

In this groundbreaking new series, DK brings together fresh voices and DK design values to give readers the most information-packed, visually exciting biographies on the market today. Full-color photographs of people, places, and artifacts, definitions of key words, and sidebars on related subjects add dimension and relevance to stories of famous lives that students will love to read. ... Read more