therightprofile's review against another edition
3.0
Insightful interviews and conversations with Martin Luther King, especially his poignant and stil-timely last words, where he spoke about his vision to tackle poverty among people of all races an the purpose of non-violent but nevertheless militant (as in demanding and persistent) movement. Nevertheless, this is a very thin book and thee certainly is more material that could have been used.
Poverty is glaring, notorious reality...I guess it wouldn't be so bad for them if it were shared misery, but it is poverty amid plenty. It is poverty in the midst of an affluent society..." , MLK Jr, March 25th, 1968
Poverty is glaring, notorious reality...I guess it wouldn't be so bad for them if it were shared misery, but it is poverty amid plenty. It is poverty in the midst of an affluent society..." , MLK Jr, March 25th, 1968
isering's review against another edition
4.0
Note that this wasn't written by MLK himself, but rather a group of people by going through his notes and speeches. Remarkably, what emerges is pretty coherent - by forming chapters around topics (e.g. a long one on Black Power) it flows almost as well as other autobiographies. However it does feel somewhat too neutral at times - not as personal or one-on-one as it presumably would have been had MLK written it. They also quote at length from his speeches which is actually a positive because he speaks so well!
Overall, I learned a lot from this and would definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn't know as much about MLK as they'd like to
Overall, I learned a lot from this and would definitely recommend it to anyone who doesn't know as much about MLK as they'd like to
shumska's review against another edition
4.0
u današnje vrijeme -kad nema ništa lakše nego uključiti komp, naći prikladan post ili osobu i opaliti šamar iz udobnosti svog naslonjača- čitati kingove govore i propovijedi i slijediti njegovu filozofiju nenasilja djeluje kao čista bajka. kao da progovara duh iz nepostojeće pećine.
ovo nije autobiografija u smislu da ju je martin luther king napisao; clayborne carson poslužio se raznim izvorima (kingova pisma, dokumenti, govori, intervjui, izjave itd.) te ih uobličio u tekst pisan u prvom licu, pokušavajući nam tako kinga učiniti svojevrsnim osobnim pripovjedačem. iz dobivenog, jasno je da je king bio silno karizmatični lik, njegove govore gotovo da možeš čuti, gotovo da možeš osjetiti intonaciju i dinamiku zanosa dok se obraća bilo bijeloj, bilo crnoj zajednici. svoje retoričke sposobnosti tesao je kao pastor, ali vrhunac je dosegao u ohrabrujućim, biblijski nadahnutim govorima u kojima se vidi koje je njegovo životno poslanje: potaknuti crnu zajednicu da se izbori za svoja prava, za svoju slobodu. tako je naglasak u knjizi na njegovoj socijalnoj misiji, a u zapećku je njegov privatni život (na suprugu se povremeno referira kao na nekoga bez koga on ne bio bio to što jest, ali četvero njegove djece u ovom djelu ne zauzimaju nikakvu ulogu).
iako ne mogu reći da se mogu u potpunosti emocionalno povezati s problemima koje crna zajednica stoljećima nosi na svojim plećima, ovo je važna knjiga za sve koje zanimaju ljudska prava i problem rasizma.
ovo nije autobiografija u smislu da ju je martin luther king napisao; clayborne carson poslužio se raznim izvorima (kingova pisma, dokumenti, govori, intervjui, izjave itd.) te ih uobličio u tekst pisan u prvom licu, pokušavajući nam tako kinga učiniti svojevrsnim osobnim pripovjedačem. iz dobivenog, jasno je da je king bio silno karizmatični lik, njegove govore gotovo da možeš čuti, gotovo da možeš osjetiti intonaciju i dinamiku zanosa dok se obraća bilo bijeloj, bilo crnoj zajednici. svoje retoričke sposobnosti tesao je kao pastor, ali vrhunac je dosegao u ohrabrujućim, biblijski nadahnutim govorima u kojima se vidi koje je njegovo životno poslanje: potaknuti crnu zajednicu da se izbori za svoja prava, za svoju slobodu. tako je naglasak u knjizi na njegovoj socijalnoj misiji, a u zapećku je njegov privatni život (na suprugu se povremeno referira kao na nekoga bez koga on ne bio bio to što jest, ali četvero njegove djece u ovom djelu ne zauzimaju nikakvu ulogu).
iako ne mogu reći da se mogu u potpunosti emocionalno povezati s problemima koje crna zajednica stoljećima nosi na svojim plećima, ovo je važna knjiga za sve koje zanimaju ljudska prava i problem rasizma.
redwolf1187's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
King’s words are as relevant today as they were in the 1960s. A required read for all people concerned with freedom and equity for all.
holtfan's review against another edition
5.0
A fascinating book and great audio with snip-its from Martin Luther King Jr.'s actual speeches. I liked what it had to say about organizing, definitely some good tips (especially about picking a target and not just protesting generally.)
Like most people, I assume, I am most familiar with MLK's work in the south and was fascinated to learn about his efforts in Chicago. His methods and goals seem to have shifted at that point and I would like to learn more. From my extreme ignorance, it seems to have been less effective and I wonder why.
Especially near the end, I don't always agree with the rhetoric, but I find it interesting hearing where it came from and I feel I probably need to study it more to state a stronger opinion.
Definitely worth listening to this one.
Like most people, I assume, I am most familiar with MLK's work in the south and was fascinated to learn about his efforts in Chicago. His methods and goals seem to have shifted at that point and I would like to learn more. From my extreme ignorance, it seems to have been less effective and I wonder why.
Especially near the end, I don't always agree with the rhetoric, but I find it interesting hearing where it came from and I feel I probably need to study it more to state a stronger opinion.
Definitely worth listening to this one.
aseel_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Giving this a four because it's King but I thought the middle interview was really hard to read (all the stops and starts) and I didn't vibe with his stance on a certain country in the last interview/conversation. So technically a 3 on my rating system but I'm giving it a 3 here
cfish77's review against another edition
3.0
This book was interesting. However, I have a hard time w/ the label "autobiography". Someone took King's writings and put them together and sometimes tweaked things to make it flow better.
_chelseawrites's review against another edition
5.0
Phew. This book is long and in-depth, but so, so worth it. It does such a good job of explaining the intellectual and spiritual underpinnings of King's beliefs and actions. I think King often gets mythologized in our culture - and I get it. He did incredible work and had so much talent. I think also we like to put people who make change on a pedestal - we like to think that they're somehow special, gifted, different from us. Sure, Martin Luther King can do that, but we never could. It lets us off the hook to make King into something more than just a man. But reading this book...you can't ignore that he was only human. A super talented, determined, and brave human, absolutely. But reading about how he was scared for his family and his congregation, how he wrestled with decisions like where to accept a job after grad school, how he had to choose over and over again to fight for civil rights - you realize that he wasn't given some superhuman powers. He was a man who knew what he believed in, and decided it was worth risking everything for. Wow. It's inspirational, but also a bit of a gut punch. As a white woman, am I undoing King's work in anyway? Or devaluing it through my actions? How can I be an ally and continue to fight for racial justice, fifty years after King's death?
Anyways. This has become less of a book review and more of a reflection. But that's why this book is good - King was a fantastic writer and the editing of this book is well done. It makes you examine yourself and your life.
Anyways. This has become less of a book review and more of a reflection. But that's why this book is good - King was a fantastic writer and the editing of this book is well done. It makes you examine yourself and your life.