A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

If you're not familiar with King's actual writings and (especially) speeches, you will not regret anything you do to rectify that. 50 years later, we tend to hold a pretty abstract notion of the man, as a kind of saint or—as Cornell West is fond of saying—a Santa-Claus figure. We are aware that he gave at least one important speech, possibly even more than one. But as you listen to these speeches, what you will become aware of is King's piercing intellect, and his devotion to the cause of uplifting the American nation and its people. You will see a man fully committed to nonviolence, aware of both its power and its difficulty. I was enraptured over and over again as I listened.

To be sure, this is not a biography. You will see few if show more any of King's faults and foibles as a human being here. The introductions, while well written and compelling, stick fairly closely to a vision of MLK as a moral and political leader. Which he certainly was. Feel free to look elsewhere if you are looking for a narrative of his life. But you could do worse than to start here if you are looking for an understanding of his spirit and his legacy. show less

Inspiring and suitably named collection. King was such a powerful orator that even reading his words can give you an idea of his fierce dedication to civil rights. The speeches in his book naturally share common themes (and often draw on certain Biblical metaphors time and again), but also addressed the specific issues of each situation -- fighting for the vote, urging nonviolence, eulogizing the four girls killed in a Birmingham church bombing, advocating the end of the Vietnam War. The intros to each piece give some context, but really the selections stand well on their own, and are worthwhile reading for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, or any time one needs to be reminded of the struggles of that era ... and how much show more farther we have to go. show less

You can read about Dr. MLK's landmark speeches but how much more dynamic it is to hear them. I picked this up to hear the "I Have a Dream" speech on the 50th anniversary but couldn't tell which track it was so I listened to the whole thing. It was interesting to hear "Dream" phrasing in his earlier speeches ("I have a dream" was presented months before in Detroit) as well as hear his preacherly cadence and pacing of his speech. (He starts out sleepy-slow and ever so slowly winds the crank to full-on righteousness.) The audio production isn't studio quality but there wouldn't be that MLK dynamism in the studio either. Also featured are civil rights luminaries reading essays that preface each speech.

I just finished the audiobook version. Each speech and sermon is the recording of the actual one given. I can't begin to describe how moving and uplifting Dr King's words are. This is simply one of the best books I have ever heard or read. Raise your spirit by listening to Dr King.
Personally, I am so glad that he made it to the mountaintop.

These are definitely the landmark speeches. It's amazing to read them in a row and realize how much of an effect he had on our country in a very short time. The introductions are interesting because they are by people who knew him, but they don't offer much in the way of interesting commentary.

[audiobook] Thrilling, inspiring, and humbling. The brilliance of Dr. King's speeches is marred only by the poor audio quality of the early recordings.

The speeches are great! But his most famous speech wasn't even in the compilation!