Taylor Branch

Taylor Branch makes the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the primary focus of this first volume,
while he illuminates the faith and strength of the many brave, daring, and controversial men and women who supported,
inspired and sustained him. That Dr. King did not always do the same for them is an example of the author's extensive
research, sparing no one, Black or White, male or female, rich or poor, Baptist or Atheist, radical or conservative - from the Kennedys to King -
to examine
fault show more lines, evil, and greatness.

From Vernon Johns and Stanley Levison to Robert Moses, Bayard Rustin, and John Lewis, all are heroes!

Taylor Branch moves with understated eloquence and honesty as he relates how kids were risking their lives
in pursuit of FREEDOM while their rich religious elders and the liberal establishment in Washington created
a violent farce for white racists to gloat over. They could continue to murder, then sue the survivors for creating a disturbance.

Questions: Did MLK ever help those men he was imprisoned with? He gave them a promise.

Why did Eisenhower do so little to help?

and, most important, would Dr. King have sent his own children out to face the deadly hoses and the snarling dogs?
The "Children's March" that saved The South could so easily have turned into the Bull Connor/George Wallace Children's Massacre.

Would King and the other pacifist leaders have confronted the men who sent that little girl rolling down the street?

How did the rich northern Baptist churches justify themselves when so many African Americans in the South
faced lives of near-starvation, poverty, and no schools, doctors, or hospitals?

The author 'parts the waters' is so many ways, revealing the lame and dangerous excuses the Kennedys offered for their refusals
to send in the desperately needed federal forces to end and prevent the violence and murders of those merely seeking to register to vote.
Where was the promised "Voter Protection?!?"
And why did the Baptist leaders waste so much time and money on ridiculous confrontations
like the Taylor Preacher fracas? Again, Taylor Branch spares no fools.

What could be improved are the confusingly marked photographs, notably the first set. show less

A monumental work in scope, research and importance. Although Martin Luther King, Jr. is the central figure, the book isn't exactly a biography of MLK, it's more a biography of a movement that changed the United States and became an inspiration for many other social movements. The work and sacrifices of hundreds of people is chronicled within this book, which can be a little daunting especially when you consider that at over 900 pages of text and another 150 or so of notes, references and show more the index, this is only the first book in a trilogy. Lucky for us, the writing is clear and the stories of the struggle are filled with drama, poignancy, and political gamesmanship.
Although incredible gains have been made in the 70 years since the time this book covers, this book still resonates as many of the issues still exist. Black people are incarcerated more easily and more subject to police violence, voting rights are being attacked and, in general, the administration currently seems to agree with many that somehow civil rights went too far.
In terms of the book, my only complaint is that the chapters are too long. I wish the author could have figured out a way to break them up into more digestible chunks. Even so, I look forward to reading the next book in the trilogy. show less

I find Branch's style too terse; the really significant moments in his narrative almost seem to get less attention than the trivial. It's an important history, and worth such a full retelling. But honestly, you'll appreciate this book more if you're already familiar with the basic contours of the story.

The first book was excellent; the second book was pretty good; this one, like the civil rights movement itself, foundered a bit on the Vietnam War. The civil rights movement was already too big and had too much to discuss - these books weren't particularly clear in explaining why some people or events were included and others weren't - and adding Vietnam just compounded the issue.