This was a very well told book and is historically accurate to my knowledge so I did like that much of it. I also liked reading about how much we as society has changed and improved treating other people although there are still bad people that don’t get it. As much as I like what MLK did this book opened my eyes to the man that he really was and I just don’t think he was such a great Christian man like a lot of others like to say.

I listened to this as an audiobook and was granted access via NetGalley.

I don't know if I would have elected to listen to this to an audiobook if I had not been given the chance to. And I'm glad I did! The audiobook narrator Dion Graham did a great job of doing distinct voices and cadences for all the people without it coming off as cartoonish or trying too hard.

I knew a lot of this already having work at BU but it's always nice to learn new thing and get historical context for others.

Title: King: A Life
Author: Jonathan Eig
Narrated by: Dion Graham
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Length: Approximately 20 hours and 45 minutes
Source: Review Copy from NetGalley

Have you ever read a biography about Martin Luther King Jr.? I realized when this new biography of Martin Luther King Jr. came out last year that I’ve only read biographies of him written for children and it was more than time for me to read a biography of him written for adults.

King: A Life is the first major new biography about Martin Luther King Jr in over forty years. As it states in the introduction, this book is the biography of the real man, not of a saint. He was a man with sins, doubts, and depression, but he also had a great vision for mankind and was a loving father. It was a comprehensive biography that included interviews with a lot of different people in King’s life, his father’s unpublished biography, other biographies of those in his life (like his wife), and the FBI files that have been released. It was a great overall look at King the man and the work that he did with his life. My main takeaways were:

• King suffered from what is now thought to be depression and anxiety. He had anxiety attacks when he talked about how he may be killed.

• People were trying to kill him all the time. He was stabbed in the chest a book signing. A bomb was place at this family home, but luckily didn’t go off. He was constantly under threat.

• It seemed strange that so many people wanted to use violence against a man who promoted non-violence.

• White people thought that King was radical, while black people thought he was too conservative.

• King cheated on Coretta Scott King from the moment they were dating and all through their married life. I had a really hard time with this. I know that other powerful men at the time such as JFK did the same thing, but King was a pastor. The flagrant flouting of the ten commandments really bothered me.

• Speaking of Coretta Scott King, I want to read more about her. She was a strong and smart woman on her own right that had to put her ambitions aside to become Martin Luther King Jr.’s wife.

• The FBI and President Johnson were obsessed with King’s extramarital affairs and bringing him down.

• King’s children found out about his death on TV which I thought was heartbreaking.

• King tried to make a social change. Even though he used nonviolent methods, it caused strife, riots, burnings, personal persecution, and assassination.

• The amount that Martin Luther King Jr. accomplished before dying at age 39 is amazing.

• I loved the narrator of this audiobook, Dion Graham. He had a deep soothing voice that was wonderful for narration. He was also able to capture King’s cadence when he read quotes by him.

Overall, King: A Life by Jonathan Eig was a fascinating and deep look into the man behind the martyr. I am glad that I read this book.

This is a brilliant book about a brilliant man whose contributions to America and the world is immeasurable.
Eig gave an honest account of Dr. Martin Luther King's life which made him human and allowed the reader to even be more impressed with what he accomplished.
A great read!

While the narrator for this book was great, I had a hard time getting into it. I try never ever ever to not finish a Netgalley book. I feel like if an author or publisher is kind enough to give me a free review copy of a book that I'm bound by honor to finish it.

But I just couldn't with this one. I'm not sure why.

Actually, I think it was more of a combination of things. Such as:

1. There seemed to be no new information in the book. It was the same information that's out there in a million other books and documentaries.
2. It was presented in a not-so-engaging way. The narrator did his best with the material, but you can't exactly jazz up a book that's written in a somewhat dull manner.
3. Some of the information seemed more like speculation or opinion than fact. I can't remember particular instances, but I remember this being an irritation for me.

I waited SO LONG to review the book because I kept telling myself that I was going to go back and finish it. I never did, and that's why I've forgotten more specific details.

Overall, though, this one just wasn't the book for me.

Loved this telling of King's life. It brought new perspectives to his life that were interesting and valuable to learning more about King. This was well done in all aspects.

4.5

At over 600 pages with a nearly 21 hour audiobook, I expected this biography to be a bit of a slog, but I found once I started listening to this book I could not put it down. Of course some of that was probably due to Dion Graham’s incredible narration (seriously I cannot recommend the audiobook enough), but also the way Eig went about constructing the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., was so engrossing.

Most people know the basics of MLK and his “I Have a Dream” speech, arguably one of the greatest speeches in American History, but here Eig gives us so much more. He explores how King happened to be in the right place at the right time to become the face of the Montgomery Bus Boycott and eventually of the entire Civil Rights Campaign. He shows how King’s beliefs evolved over time and how he doubted and struggled on his own path, and how Hoover and the FBI actively worked to discredit King because they thought the Civil Rights Movement would fail without him. Throughout this book Eig gives us King, as legendary activist, but also shows King, the human.

The one thing I wish the book had spent a little more time on was King’s legacy. The book ends with his assassination and there is a short epilogue that covers his funeral and comments on how King’s message has been smoothed down over time and that in the authors words, “in hallowing King we have hollowed him”, but I would have loved further exploration into that idea. Especially considering how Eig seemed to grove quickly through King’s evolution from campaigning for civil rights to a larger anti-war, wealth redistribution stance.

That being said, I really enjoyed this book and a highly recommend to anyone looking to learn more about King or the Civil Rights Movement. I know I will be purchasing myself a copy to reference and reread.

A fascinating book about an incredible, yet human, man. It's long, but for good reason. The author wrote that "in hallowing King, we have hollowed him," and the length of the book allowed the author to give a fleshed out view of an American icon. It was well researched, well written, and well read (the audiobook). I highly recommend it.

This comprehensive biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and death, complete with references to recently released FBI investigation reports, is a must read for biography enthusiasts and worth the effort even for those who are not. It was a heavy lift at over 20 hours of audio, but Dion Graham, an expert narrator, made it easy to listen to.

It’s tempting to simply idolize and ignore the complexity of figures such as King. This type of thinking comes at the expense of recognizing that we all have a role to play in changing the world and the country for the better. It has been 55 years since Dr. MLK Jr. was killed, and in many ways the U.S. is still inching toward the vision King proclaimed. This is a timely examination of a life lived with conviction.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this ALC!

There has been a lot of talk in recent years about how people who post quotes from Dr. King on social media are often the same people who would have disapproved of him and possibly hated him in real life. This biography, which I listened to on audio (great narration), is definitive proof of that. King's legacy has been sanitized and watered down so that the general public can express admiration for him without actually understanding what his true goals were: the eradication of racism, war, and poverty. People who accept war and would never approve of a universal basic income or reparations probably need to rethink whether they are on the same page as MLK. This book is comprehensive, thorough, and clearly well researched, but it is also well written and compelling. I would love for everyone to read it and spend some time reckoning with the truth of who he was (even the ugly realities of his marital infidelity) and attempting to understand what he truly wanted to accomplish, not just for this country but for the world.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance audio copy of this book.

Review: I learned a lot more from this book then I ever did in school about Martin Luther King Jr.. The narration was excellent, but the book was crazy long and did bore me from time to time. Overall, though well done.
Recommended For: Those who enjoy history audiobooks.

Jonathan Eig's King: A Life is the definitive biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. The information is excellent-- Eig had access to material no other King biographer has had-- and the (true) storytelling is as lively, compelling, and entertaining as fiction. Dion Graham's straightforward narration is impeccable, making this superb book a joy to listen to. I feel privileged to have received a copy of the audiobook via Netgalley.

I've purchased copies for friends and have put the audio and physical book on my school library's order list. A must-own book!

5+ stars

Such a thorough, complex, and fascinating account of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and philosophy. In it, the author challenges the one-dimensional, beatific portrait of Dr. King as a purely peaceful advocate of brotherly love. He did, of course, preach of non-violent protest and hope for a more equal and loving society, but his ideology and the political battles he fought were far more nuanced. Essentially, it argues that by simplifying the story and beliefs of Dr. King and highlighting only the most placid and peaceful parts of it, we’ve minimized both his vision and his impact.

This biography explores the collision of Dr. King’s work with the highly-charged politicking around Vietnam, more radical strains of the civil rights movement from figures like Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael, and even questionable FBI involvement and tactics. It covers the intricate balancing of interests between national leaders at the time, as well as the personal struggles of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King, making it an intriguing narrative on both a societal and a human level.

It’s a long listen/read, but I’d definitely recommend it if you have an interest in history and activism! I learned a ton about the interplay of all of the different forces and factions at work in the 1960s. Great nonfiction!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my gifted copy. King: A Life is available May 16!

A thorough and detailed look into Dr. King’s life and the resistance he faced from every angle. I appreciate the way Jonathan Eig details King’s life while also showing that the more times may change, white supremacy and racist power is a tale as old as time.

This is a deep dive into Dr. King’s life, tracing his later convictions back to their origins in his family and the church.

This is an essential book for our time — particularly for white people committed to antiracism work. I’ll recommend it to everyone I know.

I was given an ARC of this book through my own request from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book that I have read of Jonathan Eig's and found it a great read. It was highly informative and told the complete story. I felt it told both the favorable and unfavorable sides of King's story in this honest telling of it and the story of the civil rights movement with his influence during that time.

As someone who only knows the “school version” of MLK, it was so interesting to get a more intimate version of one of the most famous men in our history. This book showcases that there is something new to know even if you think you know everything.

I really enjoyed this educational and thought provoking book with a narrator that matched the tone of the book. You can tell the quality of the book is reflective through the intensive research that is determined to tell an unadulterated story. You will not be able to put this book down once you start it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC

GOSH. I am so thankful and honored to have received a copy of this magnificent biography. I am living for the inside scoop into MLK Jr's life and learning more about his come-up. King: A Life is set to hit shelves on May 16, 2023, and I'm grateful to Macmillan Audio, Jonathan Eig, and NetGalley for considering me to review such and spectacularly produced piece of media.