King: A Life

by Yohuru Williams (Adaptation ), Michael G. Long (Adaptation), Jonathan Eig (Original Author)

Hailed as “the most compelling account of [Martin Luther] King’s life in a generation” by the Washington Post , the Pulitzer Prize–winning bestseller is now adapted for young adults in this new standard biography of the most famous civil rights activist in American History.

Often regarded as more of a myth and legend than man, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was many things throughout his storied student, activist, preacher, dreamer, father, husband. From his Atlanta childhood centered in the historically Black neighborhood of Sweet Auburn to his precipitous rise as a civil rights leader on the streets of Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery, Dr. King would go on to become one of the most recognizable, influential, and controversial persons of the twentieth century.

In this fast-paced and immersive adaptation of Jonathan Eig’s groundbreaking New York Times bestseller listeners will meet a Dr. King like no a committed radical whose demands for racial and economic justice remain as urgent today as they were in his lifetime, a minister wrestling with his human frailties and dark moods, a citizen hunted by his own government.

The inspiring young adult edition of A Life highlights the author’s never-before-seen research—including recently declassified FBI documents—while reaffirming and recontextualizing the lasting effects and implications of MLK’s work for the present day. Adapted by National Book Award–nominated authors Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long, this biography for a new generation is a nuanced, unprecedented portrayal of a man who truly shook the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Audiobook, Biography Memoir

247 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 7, 2025

Reviews

[Julia Drury Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few months ago for Martin Luther King Jr day, my nanny kid's affluent private school posted pictures of how they celebrated: the kids were taught that Martin Luther King Jr wanted to spread peace and love, kindness and friendship, and they made signs with smilies and hearts to the same effect, then held their signs and "marched" through the halls of the school. I was appalled. Non-specific messages of peace and love do not get a person arrested, stabbed, bombed, urged to commit suicide by the FBI. People don't burn effigies or assassinate proponents of friendship. MLKJ was committed to nonviolence, it's true, but he also believed that comfortable white people were a kind of violence threatening the lives Black Americans.

He spoke out on income inequality, police brutality, the Vietnam war, and yes, he spoke to tens of thousands of people from the Montgomery bus boycotts to the protests of President Johnson's failure to pass funding to alleviate poverty. The same government that now commemorates him for giving his I Have A Dream speech also wire-tapped his hotel rooms and arrested him 29 different times.

He was not a perfect or even uncomplicated person, as those near him knew, especially when he was traveling away from his wife, and I have more complicated feelings about him as a person than I did before, but his message is more cohesive, comprehensive, and radical even by many people's 2025 standards than the little white kids are taught. We owe him and thousands of others in his time for the progress they made.

[E Money The Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to the Doctor Reverend. Didn’t personally learn anything but loved hearing Dion Graham who I’ve decided is the most talented audiobook narrator I know of.

The audiobook version my library had seems to be a much shorter edition meant for Young Adults. As far as a brief 4 hours goes, this hits the good stuff. Encourages me to get around to the full book at some point. One thing that can be a miss regarding MLK media is the tendency to sterilize his radical opinions. Thankfully this one doesn’t shy away.

[Paige (pagebypaigebooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“With a booming voice and strident words, he marked the path for himself and for a movement.”

I'd like to thank MacMillan Children's Publishing Group for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I've also posted this review on Instagram and my blog.

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Content Warnings: racism, violence, murder

In this new edition, Martin Luther King Jr.'s story is made more accessible for younger audiences, however, it still captures its complexity and importance. It follows Dr. King's life from childhood throughout his role in the civil rights movement. I enjoyed how much more I learned about Dr. King as a person and the struggles he faced that are not always discussed in history classes. King: A Life also addresses common misconceptions about Dr. King and his work. The perspective was multi-layered and well-researched, making it a great resource for everyone looking to learn more about the civil rights movement. Overall, a great read that combines both the history of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a civil rights leader and his personal journey as a father and husband.

[Hoover Public Library Kids and Teens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A majestic biography of the most famous activist in American history. Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography for adults.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonathan Eig published KING: A LIFE in 2023, but at nearly 700 pages, it may limit its audience. Enter KING: A LIFE (YOUNG ADULT EDITION), published in January 2025. This is an accessible abridgment of Eig's detailed scholarship, but make no mistake: it is still rich and detailed, and readers will walk away with newfound understanding and appreciation for King's impact.

While MLK is often heralded as a prophetic voice, he was not revered in his time. The FBI was bugging his phones and tracking his movements, even going so far as to try to blackmail him, and his Letter From a Birmingham Jail directly calls out the white Christian moderates that were uncomfortable with how he was going about seeking civil rights.

Dion Graham does an excellent job narrating the audiobook , and for direct quotes, Graham lowers his voice to embody MLK's voice. Eig does a phenomenal job at introducing readers to the flawed but impactful man.

(Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing this audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.)

[Erika Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the young adult reader version of Eig’s original 600+ page biography of King. I did not read the original, but I feel that this did a great job of encompassing King’s life and career, including details about pivotal moments in the Civil Rights Movement. While it gives some details about King’s affairs and the FBI’s wire tapping, I wish there had been a bit more because this is often what’s left out of history books. Otherwise, though, this was an informative and age-appropriate dive into MLK Jr.’s life. Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Jonathan Eig for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Bethany Eveleth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do want to read the full version, but I struggled with this YA adaptation for the first 60% or so. It felt more like King: A Series of Events than King: A Life. With my secondary educator cap on, I felt like more could have been done to tell the story, not just the wheres and whens of things. Particularly when I think about how much of King’s story would be foreign to young readers—what does Selma, Alabama look like, for example? We just miss out on some of the elements that would help a young reader really envision and connect with the story. The last third or so does a better job of this and I also think that for readers it becomes a little easier because his assassination is unfortunately a better known part of his story… I’d put it on my shelf and I’d like to recommend it for curriculum, but I do think it leaves some to be desired in developing a narrative that is more than a string of marches.

[Yapha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Although I have spent years reading children's books about him and sharing them with students, I was shocked at how much I did not know. The author and adaptors do a fantastic job of presenting him as a man with all of his ups and downs, not the myth that MLK has become. Highly recommended for grades 8 & up.

[Carrolet]

The 2024 Pulitzer Prize winning biography (my review of which has disappeared from Goodreads) has been adapted for young adults and addresses the highlights that make King human and accessible to young readers. Dr. King is more than a speech and a monument in both editions but this one lacks some of the balance needed to equally present the positive side of this great man.

[Staci Vought · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fast read that barely skimmed the surface of his life, but was very readable and quick for high school readers. It gave some insight into his personal life & his mindset during some of the iconic moments we all know about.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our leaders are not perfect, but sometimes they are the perfect leader for the movement we need at the right time. I truly believe that MLK Jr. was put on this earth to inspire others. His words are still relevant today, and his dreams has not been fully realized.

We still have work to do.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

People are complex. This biography of MLK Jr. does a good job of helping to show the various sides of Dr. Martin Luther King that some may not have heard before. It is presented in an unbiased, well-researched, and engaging manner. Often we only hear about Dr King's call for non-violent protest but not what was really upsetting to the white people and what caused them to threaten him and his family, tap his telephone, bomb his home, and eventually assassinate him. He spoke out against the VietNam War; he spearheaded many of the boycotts and rallies that involved thousands of people; he collaborated with other Black leaders of the time. He was gone from home a lot and left Coretta Scott King to raise the kids. He was also a womanizer and unfaithful to her. He is often viewed as saint-like, but he was human. This book does a good job of showing us who the real MLK was, with all his flaws, but also for all he did to advance the civil rights movement and to stand up for what he thought was right.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for anyone who wants to learn more about the life of Dr. King.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

For this and other book reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the digital copy of this audiobook; I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Updated 11/17/2024 to reflect that I've listened to the audiobook of the Young Readers Edition that is forthcoming.

Last year, I read the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Martin Luther King Jr. and wrote this review:

‘Sometimes there’s nothing better for me than diving into an 800+ page biography of someone you know something about but want to know more. I opted to get the audiobook version of this book, which clocks in at more than 20 hours.

I’ve not read or listened to any other MLK Jr biographies, other than children’s biographies when I was growing up. What I know about King is what I’ve read in terms of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations’ work with civil rights legislation, and from what I’ve seen from a few documentaries on the subject of the Civil Rights Movement. So this comprehensive and well-researched biography was a must for me.

In some ways, there’s nothing new to see here, as most of the information that has come to light in recent years (like the release of FBI Files) has already been in the news. However, it’s good to go over all the new documents and form an extensive look at a complicated man. King was no saint, he certainly was a sinner, had blinders on sometimes when it came to the cause and refused to see the bigger picture, yet his influence cannot be denied.

There are some salacious truths about King’s personal life, and I’m not going to rehash them here, but they are mentioned in the book and not covered up in order to make King saint-like. I also pay attention to how a person treated their family and how the kids turned out. All of his kids say he was an absent father because of how much he travelled but was an active participant in their lives when he was around, which was rare. Coretta Scott King essentially raised those kids on her own, even before King’s assassination. His wife and children picked up the mantle and continued with his cause after he was gone.

The book isn’t perfect; as with any 800-page book, one often wonders why a certain tidbit was included and not edited out, but it is worth a read or listen if you want to strip away the built-up myth of Martin Luther King Jr and want to find the man behind it.’

This young-adult adaptation of said tome is just as effective as the original to drive home the fact that King was a man who tried to make the world of African Americans better through peaceful protest. This edition cuts out just about everything regarding his personal life and gets to the crux of what made the man. The narrator, Dion Graham, does a great job, and even does a fair impersonation of King. I can tell that this narration will help keep kids engaged and continue listening.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been interested in reading the author's 600+ page tome, ever since seeing it on Barack Obama's reading list. Thanks to NetGalley and McMillan's Children's Publishing Group, I have the opportunity to read the Young Adult Edition. YA non-fiction is my new go-to for understanding a topic in all of its complexity. The subject matter is not watered down, but it has been edited for brevity. At the end, the author summarizes a timeline, his purpose of writing about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and some common misconceptions about who he was as a human as well as a leader.

King: A Life gives such a multi-faceted view of Dr. King. The author introduces his childhood and college years, which are especially interesting for the fact that he dated a white woman briefly, and advanced in his studies, yet plagiarized some of his schoolwork. As we follow Dr. King's legacy, we see the turmoil both literally and figuratively. We see that he was not a saint or a superhero, but a real person who, though flawed, led a great movement.

I learned so much more about the civil rights movement and the events that surrounded it, as well as the geographical challenges of appealing to northern states who didn't actually hold the moral standard as history tries to portray. I grew up in St. Louis, and was appalled to learn that Brown vs. Board of education was not implemented for years afterward in Missouri. This book will hopefully invite readers to learn more about the civil rights movement and the laws that were changed because of Dr. King.

This book would be perfect for studying a more nuanced portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and I also recommend reading More Than a Dream: The Radical March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom by Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long. These should both be required reading in high school history classes.

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been wanting to read more about Dr. King, so I was really excited to get the opportunity to read an early copy of the YA edition of King: A Life. I’m impressed with how Eig was able to condense the much longer adult version without feeling like it was ‘dumbed down.’ This touches on many important milestones in Dr. King’s life. It’s easy to see the amount of research that went into this in order to portray Dr. King’s life as a whole. I learned so much about Dr. King and the civil rights movement while reading this that we were never taught in history classes. I also really appreciated the notes added at the end of the book that discuss the timeline of Dr. King’s life, questions for readers to think about after finishing, and the quote of a child asking if Dr. King had tattoos since it forces people to think of Dr. King as a person. I had both the ebook and audiobook for this, andI can’t recommend the audiobook enough. The narration by Dion Graham kept me fully invested and invoked so many emotions while reading that may not have hit as hard eyeball reading. This is such a compelling read that everyone should experience.
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eARC courtesy of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group and Netgalley
ALC courtesy of MacMillan Audio and Netgalley

[Kyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a well written and researched read about one of America’s most prominent civil rights leaders. I also learned about people like J. Edgar Hoover and Lyndon B Johnson.
The book did use lowercase w when referencing whites and upper case B when referencing blacks. In my opinion, both should be uppercase or both should be lowercase like it has been in the past. To do one or the other uppercase seems politically correct and unnecessary.
I did learn some things about King’s character that were not honorable, which is to be expected. We are all sinful and King was a man just like everyone else. Yet he is an example of someone whom God used to do great things despite his faults.

Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to review this book before its publication date.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd be interested in reading the original version though as Eig mentions in the audiobook arc that the original is over 650 pages. To have distilled that into this extremely accessible biography of King for teens took work but it works so well. I was riveted by the perspective it took that complimented the knowledge I had about King but also added new layers about his early years, particularly that he wasn't that great of a student and his questioning his competence which is what led to bouts of depression. It also mentions his marriage and children, particularly his infidelities. Yet Eig also shares plenty of his strengths as an orator and organizer.

It's a strong biography that I'm glad to have read.

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comprehensive biography of MLK's life adapted from the longer, thoroughly researched adult title. It dragged in some places, mainly because you can't always keep nonfiction fast-paced, but I did drift in and out of paying attention. Not sure how it will hold young adults' attention.

CW: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Death, Hate crime, Police brutality, Gun violence, Infidelity, Classism, Murder, War, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Alcoholism, Torture, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent

3.75 stars

[Whitney Weinberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looks like the YA adapted version and the original are conflated on Goodreads for some reason?

I’d love to read the original version soon.

The YA version was very good. Quite a bit shorter than the adult tome. But did a great job at showing King as a whole person flaws and all and how he became a figure head of the civil rights movement.

Very accessible for a younger audience easy to digest without sugarcoating anything.

Thanks to netgalley and Macmillan audio for an alc.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this one. The narration is great! The story itself is also told very well. I have read other books about King but there was definitely new material I have not read before.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my review.

[Lieke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about Kings life, I never learned about him at school (in The Netherlands).
This was a great introduction, with a very good narrator.

[Mark Rhode · Rating 5 out of 5]

This shorter Young Adult version was just right. I learned that MLK was arrested 29 times and received his Doctorate from Boston University. A truly great American.