The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

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5.0 out of 5 starsTop book for both learning about King and learning about leadership
ByAvid Readerson October 26, 2015
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Phillips has written a few leadership books - and does a masterful job in each - yet especially here.

For this book, he weaves through with a leadership lesson in each chapter - and generally places the lesson tied directly to something King did - trying to stay close to chronological order. He also supplies us with key quotes from King at the beginning and end of each chapter - for a quick summary and overview.

Phillips sets the context in which King operated. This is huge! I don't believe you can't fully understand without immersing in the history, the mindset, the goings on of the time. Phillips doesn't assume the reader is familiar with King. He doesn't assume the reader knows the circumstances of King's time. Phillips pulls the reader in; explaining the leadership trait King embodied; he explains what in King's past helped him to get here. He explains the historical context of what the culture was like, what current events caused the situation, what players were involved and a little on their mindset and background. He points out how even a great man like King made mistakes, how we evaluated his successes and failures, and how he grew and improved throughout.

King's life was short and was lived mainly before I was born - he died at age 39 - and had learned more and accomplished more than many that lived to be twice his age. Being a student of leadership, but someone who knew very little about King, I chose this book to learn about both. It inspired me to read more about King. I am amazed at how he put his principles before even fear of criticism, family threats, and even death. I think the reader will learn a lot about King, his struggles, his faith, his life, his goals, and especially his leadership style. Yet, for burgeoning leaders, it is very insightful. It will make someone think about whether they truly want to be a leader and what sacrifices they are willing to make.

Phillips makes this an easy read - but notan easy one to just race through without reflection.
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4.0 out of 5 starsGood Read
ByAmazon Customeron October 9, 2016
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I'm so grateful that I waited until now to read this book, and didn't read it years prior when I would have lacked the mental maturity to recognize the true power of nonviolent resistance! I'm forever grateful to Dr. King for his many contributions, and great sacrifice.

"True pacifism is not unrealistic submission to evil power, as Niebuhr contends. It is rather a courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love, in the faith that it is better to be the recipient of violence than the inflictor of it, since the latter only multiplies the existence of violence and bitterness in the universe, while the former may develop a sense of shame in the opponent, and thereby bring about a transformation and change of heart." - "The Autobiography Of Martin Luther King, Jr." Edited by Clayborne Carson, Pg. 26
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe man behind the mythical Martin Luther King, Jr.
Bygork57on February 16, 2015
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I bought this book for my wife to go along with the movie 'Selma', which she and I had recently seen at the theater. It's a great film, but I wanted us both to know more about Martin Luther King, Jr. than his great speeches and the events the media reports on during the MLK holiday. The information in this book provides the truth behind the myth that King has become in the years since his untimely death.

While King did not actually write this book himself (we should remember he was only 39 years old when he was assassinated in 1968), it's so well researched and edited that you believe it came from his own pen. The book goes deep into King's background, and explains how he came to the philosophy that lead him to take the actions that changed American history.

King really believed what he did was for the good of all Americans, not just those of African ancestry. If you read this book, you will find his legacy is exactly that. America is indeed a better place because of his ultimate sacrifice.
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5.0 out of 5 starsEveryone who wants to understand America should read this book ...
ByLouis Thaddaeuson January 13, 2018
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It was unfortunate that Martin Luther King Jr. did not get a chance to write his own autobiography, but Clayborne Carson does a wonderful job piecing together Martin's life struggles, highlights and main ideas. Martin's honesty and quest for justice rings throughout. There were a few sections that were duplicative, but overall I thought it was an excellent, absorbing read. To me, the book really delivered toward the end. Discussions on the concepts of power and love and nonviolence and violence were exceptional. I also really appreciated Martin's digging down to the root cause of black thought in relation to America - why, for example, many young black people leaned toward violence as a method to gain freedom and respect. Finally, there were a number of passages that could have been written today - so many points Martin made are as fresh as ever. Martin's revelations are timeless. Everyone who wants to understand America should read this book.
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5.0 out of 5 starsEye-opening, and insightful. What an amazing story.
ByGrant Marshallon September 11, 2013
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I bought this book for a number of reasons. Firstly, I knew precious little about the man who stands as a giant of history. I also knew little about the kind of Christianity he professed, and had heard some people scandalously say that King was in no real way a Christian (i.e. Christopher Hitchens). All I can say after reading this book is WOW - what an amazing story. I heard King's voice speaking every word of every chapter. It was like he was sitting next to you telling you the story of his life.

King was most certainly a Christian. He grew up in a Christian home, he went to Seminary, he became a minister and pastored a Church. He spoke of a personal relationship with Jesus. He depended on God for strength during difficult times, he prayed to Jesus, he worshiped Jesus, he preached about Jesus, and led a congregation of Jesus followers. If that's not Christian nothing is. Yet his theology was decidedly liberal. He was embarrassed by his fundamentalist upbringing, especially those who would check their minds in at the door of Church and stomp their feet during the service. He spoke candidly about denying the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and embracing the liberal view of man. However he was an honest man, who at times questioned his presuppositions. I was impressed how he preached a Gospel that led to action in the present world. Not just a gospel of Sunday pieties.

In story after story King recounted how he was committed to nonviolence because this was the way of Jesus (and Gandhi whom he was later influenced by). He didn't preach hatred of white people, but reconciliation, with an aim to a fully integrated society. If anyone had reason to hate it was King. His home was bombed, his friends homes were bombed, he and his family were verbally abused and threatened, he was stabbed, he was arrested more times than I can count, and was often the victim of gross injustice. Yet in all that he showed the world that he served another Lord, and preached a different Gospel. Violence, only begets more violence. My heart broke for those who suffered during the era of segregation. At times I was almost reduced to tears, reading about the horrors of what mankind has done to each other. Not only that but I finally came to understand a little of what it was like to grow up as a Black Man in a climate of racism, to suffer under such terrible injustice, disrespect and disenfranchisement. Blessed are the peacemakers like Dr King, for they will be called the children of God.

Yet there were times I felt that King's liberalism got the better of him. I felt that King's idea of heaven on earth was simply an integrated society where everyone had equal opportunity to all state services, good jobs, and so on. Yet this idea doesn't go far enough. What about personal repentance and transformation through the power of the Holy Spirit? Can non-violent action really bring this about? Does it treat the symptoms rather than the root cause of the issue? What God's kingdom coming to earth, and us anticipating it in the present, but recognizing it is a future reality? He condemned violent protest, and distanced himself from people like Malcolm X but didn't call on those who had been violent to repent and follow Jesus. Many times he simply rationalized their violence as the understandable reaction of those who had suffered for too long. He often saw the suffering of the negro community as redemptive. But that is to give the community too much power, and a job that only Jesus can truly accomplish. If King meant that through their suffering and weakness, they embodied Jesus' suffering, and pointed people more fully towards Christ, then I have no issues. King's views on poverty and military action were a little naive. Giving away surplus food from the western world to store it in the empty bellies of hungry Indian Children, is a noble thought, but nothing more than a short term solution to a systemic problem. Giving away food like that can drive down the prices of local produce and cause more harm for the local economy than good.

Yet those quibbles aside, this is still a fantastic book. Towards the end it gets a little dry and repetitive, but is very readable. If you only read one book on the Civil rights movement and it's pivotal leader, read this one.
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5.0 out of 5 starsMake America Great Again
ByOmar Luqmaan-harrison March 20, 2016
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One one level I an deeply ashamed that I am just reading this comprehensive, compelling, and courageous book taken from the writings and speeches of the man himself and on another level I am happy I am reading this in 2016 as the issues of racism, poverty, and war (King's self-described 3 evils) are still very much alive. This is the example of a leader as Servant - a powerful man who dedicated his power not to the creation of personal wealth but to improving the conditions for millions of people. As a black man who has directly benefited from the Civil Rights Movement I feel a personal responsibility to advance the work of Dr. King. I plan to return to this tome often for inspiration. We shall Overcome!
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Must Read
ByElizabeth Echavarriaon March 23, 2015
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An inspirational well written autobiography that recreates the times and struggle of the civil rights movement as well as, impressively captures the essence and feelings of Dr. King through its narrative and speeches. Every year we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday but I question if many of us from this generation really understand who is Dr. King and the significant contribution he made to civil rights through his nonviolent movement for change for the downtrotten poor, from the Black and White communities and then around the world. Dr King is a wonderful orator who personally moves the heart and mind with his passionate, sincere speeches aimed at uplifting and empowering his followers moving them away from victimization and into the realm of action, dignity, and self-respect. Being a religious civil rights leader, many of his speeches refer back to the Christian bible;nevertheless, they do not loose their magic to inspire even the person without religion due to the relevance and logic behind his observations and ideas. I highly recommend this book.
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5.0 out of 5 starsEnlightened Democracy!
ByO. Halabiehon September 28, 2013
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Below are key excerpts from the book that I found particularly insightful:

1- "We cannot have an enlightened democracy with one great group living in ignorance. We cannot have a healthy nation with one-tenth of the people ill-nourished, sick, harboring germs of disease which recognize no color lines--obey no Jim Crow laws. We cannot have a nation orderly and sound with one group so ground down and thwarted that it is almost forced into unsocial attitudes and crime. We cannot be truly Christian people so long as we flout the central teachings of Jesus: brotherly love and the Golden Rule. We cannot come to full prosperity with one great group so ill-delayed that it cannot.t buy goods. So as we gird ourselves to defend democracy from foreign attack, let us see to it that increasingly at home we give fair play and free opportunity for all people."

2- "Above all, I see the preaching ministry as a dual process. On the one hand I must attempt to change the soul of individuals so that their societies may be changed. On the other I must attempt to change the societies so that the individual soul will have a change. Therefore, must be concerned about unemployment, slums, and economic insecurity. I am a profound advocate of the social gospel."

3- "Admittedly, nonviolence in the truest sense is not a strategy that one uses simply because it is expedient at the moment; nonviolence is ultimately a way of life that men live by because of the sheer morality of its claim. But even granting this, the willingness to use nonviolence as a technique is a step forward. For he who goes this far is more likely to adopt nonviolence later as a way of life."

4- "Ghana has something to say to us. It says to us first that the oppressor never voluntarily gives freedom to the oppressed. You have to work for it. Freedom is never given to anybody. Privileged classes never give up their privileges without strong resistance."

5- "I am often reminded of the statement made by Nkrumah: "I prefer self-government with danger to servitude with tranquility." I think that's a great statement. They were willing to face the dangers and difficulties, but I thought that Ghana would be able to profit by the mistakes of other nations that had existed over so many years and develop into a great nation."

6- "We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was 'well timed'' in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word ''Wait!'' It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied.""

7- "Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of Saint Thomas Aquinas: an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an "I-it" relationship for an "I-thou" relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things. Hence segregation is not only politically. economically, and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful."

8- "The reason I can't follow the old eye-for-an-eye philosophy is that it ends up leaving everybody blind. Somebody must have sense and somebody must have religion."

9- "Man's inhumanity to man is not only perpetrated by the vitriolic actions of those who are bad. It is also perpetrated by the vitiating inaction of those who are good."

10- "We were all involved in the death of John Kennedy. We tolerated hate; we tolerated the sick simulation of violence in all walks of life; and we tolerated the differential application of law, which said that a man's life was sacred only if we agreed with his views. This may explain the cascading grief that flooded the country in late November. We mourned a man who had become the pride of the nation, but we grieved as well for ourselves because we knew we were sick."

11- "I think there is a lesson that we can all learn from this: that violence is impractical and that now, more than ever before, we must pursue the course of nonviolence to achieve a reign of justice and a rule of love in our society, and that hatred and violence must be cast into the unending limbo if we are to survive."

12- "We also come here today to affirm that we will no longer sit idly by in agonizing deprivation and wait on others to provide "our freedom We will be sadly mistaken if we think freedom is some lavish dish that the federal government and the white man will pass out on a silver platter while the Negro merely furnishes the appetite. Freedom is never voluntarily granted by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed."

13- "Power, properly understood, is the ability to achieve purpose. It is the strength required to bring about social, political, or economic changes. In this sense power is not only desirable but necessary in order to implement the demands of love and justice. One of the greatest problems of history is that the concepts of love and power are usually contrasted as polar opposites. Love is identified with a resignation of power and power with a denial of love. What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive and that love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love."

14- "Ultimately, a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus. If every Negro in the United States turns to violence, 1 will choose to be that one lone voice preaching that this is the wrong way...I cannot make myself believe that God wanted me to hate. I'm tired of violence, I've seen too much of it. I've seen such hate on the faces of too many sheriffs in the South. And I'm not going to let my oppressor dictate to me what method I must use. Our oppressors have used violence. Our oppressors have used hatred. Our oppressors have used rifles and guns. I'm not going to stoop down to their level. I want to rise to a higher level. We have a power that can't be found in Molotov cocktails."
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3.0 out of 5 starsThe Autobiography of MLK, Jr.
ByAnne Bradleyon February 12, 2011
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This book was written by someone other than Martin Luther King, Jr., in the first person. In my opinion, there is no bad book of MLK - just like the saying "a bad day at fishing is better than a good day at work".

For me, it was not a fast-read like Malcom X's autobiography, despite my deeper admiration for MLK than Malcom X, who came from a very broken home, subjected to much violence directly and indirectly - having a mindset that life was a war literally most of his life.

Yet Malcom X's book was truer; it had me engaged because I felt like he was talking to me.

Though Hon. Colin Powell is a completely different persona than Malcom X, his autobiography, too, had me engaged. It came from him.

Though all autobiographies, for the most part, have ghost writers, they receive the "stamp of approval" from the very one it is written on, for one thing. Yet in MLK's situation, he was not here to stamp it.

For instance, I do not believe that his family was weakening as far as their relationships went. Rather, I believe his wife Coretta was by his side in spirit constantly, cherishing the time they had together, which was quality time. Yet this writer indicated, as if MLK would say it, that his marriage was falling apart. That troubled me, for I have not believed others - even African Americans - who have told me that MLK cheated on his wife.

I don't think the author was reflecting this-type of behavior, yet I just felt that this book would have been easier read if he had just written it from his own heart, rather than what he may have imagined from MLK, particularly since he was just a little boy when MLK passed.

I learned new facts about MLK's life. I found this very useful.

Schools should place more emphasis on Martin Luther King, Jr. His love for our country and expectation for us all to turn toward eachother reflected a love which does pass understanding, as one who represented his oppressed, tortured, and murdered people. There were many arising in his day who joined with MLK.

If I gave this book a rating by stars, I would give it a "three", only because I think there are more worthwhile books out there on MLK which have more realism.
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5.0 out of 5 starsIt is a great read. He makes a great case for doing ...
ByMaryAnn Murphyon September 11, 2017
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It is a great read. He makes a great case for doing things in God's way. Although i was a white teenager and later a young adult growing up in the western United States during the 50s and 60s, I never really understood, for many years, what Dr. King was about. It was many years later as I was studying another topic entirely that I realized how necessary the Civil Rights movement was for us as a nation, for all of us as a people; and how vital it was that it be an energetic but nonviolent movement! He was a wise and dedicated soldier for truth. I have learned to respect and admire him, his wife, and his dedicated followers.