Martin Luther King Jr

Routledge Historical Biographies

by Peter J. Ling

This new biography of the most celebrated African American in history provides a thorough re-examination of both the man and the Civil Rights Movement, showing how King grew into his leadership role and kept his faith when the movement weakened after 1965. Drawing on recent scholarship on the Civil Rights Movement, this volume condenses research previously only available in larger literature. Peter Ling's crisp and fluent style captures the drama, irony and pathos of King's life and provides an excellent introduction for both students and general readers. Did Martin Luther King Jr. deserve the praise heaped upon him or was he a media creation, carried along by forces beyond his control? Thanks to Peter Ling's book, students, scholars and researchers will now be able to judge for themselves.

388 pages, Paperback

First published September 13, 2002

About the author

Peter J. Ling is a professor in the Department of American and Canadian Studies at the University of Nottingham

Reviews

[Della D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d like to say it’s a historical review on the civil right movement in 1960s from Dr.King perspective rather than a historical biography of Dr.King. As the core figure of civil right movements, Dr.King was trapped in many contradictions of his era.

This biography, through depicting King’s activism career, reflected many important themes of the movement, such as the difference and conflict within black freedom struggle, the controversial turn from movement in the South to Northern cities and the anti-Vietnam movement, the rewrite and reframe of Dr.king after his death, to name but a few.

it’s not a book for those interested in personal life and psychology of historical figure. But a really good and brief overview of Dr.Kings personal 1960s history.

[Justin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Ling's Biography of Martin Luther King immediately was the type of biography I preferred; historical and critical rather than heroic and idealistic. Starting from the beginning at Martin (Micheal) King Sr. I knew the author would not spare any information. Ling highlighted religious aspects that created the non-violent tactics of MLK outside of just Matthew 5:39 "turn the other cheek". He also highlights the amazing people surrounding MLK and their historic backgrounds, good or bad. The author documents MLK's rise from within and the endorsements from outside forces to become what some (strategically) would call "African American's Chief Spokesman" as well as his plateau near his assassination. The author describes the context of the "I have a dream" speech beyond the cartoon caricature of racial equality to the struggles that are still dreams today like the ending of police brutality or economic discrimination. The contradictions and dialectic existence of MLK only become more apparent through the book, however, this helps the reader understand the resolve and genius MLK had to still push ahead for a change. As MLK's story continues past Selma the difficulties mount as his agenda broadens. This is when I believe the author runs into some difficulties in objectively documenting the "Black Power" movement though does a decent job documenting the broad scope of social initiatives like full employment and guaranteed income. The last chapter does a good job of not trying to summate a human being whose life was cut short. The author walks the fine line of documenting a weathered political leader, pushing the Poor Peoples Campaign while still being active in helping to mobilize change in the south without trying to tie a ribbon around MLK's Life. The author does slightly defy his exactness by ending the biography by briefly documenting the perceived results of the Memphis protests and resurrection city in Washington DC. This I felt tried to summate the impact of a life that I believe there is no end. Though I started just looking for MLK's journey post-Selma. The Author provided a necessary historical biography for the reader to understand how a great man in history came to be.