King: The Life of Martin Luther King by Jonathan Eig review – a story that speaks to our times | Biography books

Who was the Rev Martin Luther King Jr? In America, the civil rights activist and Baptist minister is now embraced across the political spectrum even as the teaching of the history of discrimination and segregation that shaped him is being actively suppressed in many parts of the country. Beyond the US, he is widely celebrated in nations confronting difficult questions about their own racial pasts.

At the time of his assassination in 1968, however, most Americans had a negative view of him, and the National Security Agency had tapped his overseas phone calls. As late as the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan could state that it was still an open question whether he had been a communist dupe, as King’s enemies at J Edgar Hoover’s FBI had long alleged. By the end of that decade, however, with a national holiday in his honour (reluctantly assented to by Reagan) and prize-winning biographies by Taylor Branch and David Garrow in print, King’s image had undergone a remarkable transformation. Scholars now argue about how much Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas influenced him, though the public often embraces a simpler image of King that renders his more radical racial and economic pronouncements in anodyne terms.

Jonathan Eig, author of a monumental biography of the boxer and activist Muhammad Ali, promises to give us a new King, fully rounded and appropriate for our own moment. His book aspires to “help us make our way through these troubled times” and arrives bearing copious endorsements from past biographers.

His subject was originally called Mike King Jr, named after his Baptist preacher father. King Sr, also known as Daddy King, later adopted the more auspicious name of the reforming German theologian for himself and his son. The family home was in Atlanta, and King’s independent-minded mother Alberta was the daughter of a minister who presided at Ebenezer Baptist church, where both father and son would preach.

Eig traces the nattily dressed and flirtatious King’s progress through his studies at Atlanta’s Morehouse College to Crozer Theological Seminary (where he committed one of his many acts of plagiarism) to his doctoral studies at Boston University, during which he met his future wife, Coretta Scott. Scott’s passion for civil rights and social reform, we learn, probably exceeded King’s. Once her husband became famous, she became an activist in her own right, going on the road to put her vocal training and organising passion to use in the service of the movement – even while raising their four children.

The event that changed the 26-year-old King’s life was the year-long bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, sparked when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white passenger in December 1955. King, a newcomer to the city as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist church, was selected to lead the boycott partly because of his willingness to fight, and partly because he didn’t yet have rivals or enemies among the local Black leadership. The boycotters succeeded, aided by a supreme court victory. That victory made King the national face of a newly ascendant Black freedom movement.

Eig does an excellent job of tracing King’s interior struggles and self-doubts amid the sudden onslaught of media attention, threats, the bombing of his home and his near-death after being stabbed by a Black woman in Harlem. He also devotes sustained attention to the FBI’s campaign of bugging and harassment (authorised by Attorney General Robert Kennedy), which included sending King audiotape evidence of his extramarital affairs, along with a letter suggesting that he step down from leadership or perhaps kill himself before being exposed.

Those efforts intensified amid the events for which King is now most known: the Birmingham demonstrations of 1963, King’s famous speech at the March on Washington, the Selma-to-Montgomery march that pushed along the voting rights act of 1965, his effort to bring the movement north to the slums of Chicago, his receipt of the Nobel peace prize and his opposition to the Vietnam war. Eig also repeatedly defends King against the FBI’s charge that he was being manipulated by the small and ineffectual Communist Party USA. Although, in belabouring the point, he perhaps inadvertently lends credence to the Bureau’s framing of things – and lessens the reader’s appreciation of King’s own expansive vision of social justice for the poor and disenfranchised.

Eig takes the time to thoroughly document King’s many affairs – much of which we know about because of the FBI’s relentless surveillance. Along the way, he makes choices that will spark controversy for some, such as his inclusion (albeit sceptically) of David Garrow’s much-criticised claim that King may have “laughed and offered advice” while a fellow minister committed an act of rape – an accusation that originates with King’s enemies at the FBI and cannot be assessed until supporting documents are released in 2027.

At times, Eig’s book does give us hints of a King who might speak directly to our own times – for instance his advocacy of reparations for African Americans for centuries of bondage and oppression, although it is notable that his last effort, the poor people’s march on Washington, sought to recruit Chicanos, Native Americans, white coal miners and other groups to its cause. In general, however, the King we find here is one that previous biographers have charted. Eig’s thoroughly researched account updates their work, but aside from, for example, placing Coretta nearer the centre of the story and tracing the exact origins of the “I Have a Dream” section of the March on Washington speech, it mostly traces and deepens the tracks of a familiar story.

Above all it reveals a flawed man, self-doubting, hunted and persecuted by his enemies in the American government while still retaining enough faith to reach for visions of the future that went beyond those of many of his closest allies. At the time of his assassination, he was planning to deliver a sermon entitled “Why America may go to hell”.

Each generation ought to grapple with his life and legacy. For those seeking a readable and comprehensive account of King’s life, buttressed by extensive and up-to-date archival and oral history research, Eig’s book will remain essential reading – but certainly not the last word on its subject.

Who was the Rev Martin Luther King Jr? In America, the civil rights activist and Baptist minister is now embraced across the political spectrum even as the teaching of the history of discrimination and segregation that shaped him is being actively suppressed in many parts of the country. Beyond the US, he is widely celebrated in nations confronting difficult questions about their own racial pasts.

At the time of his assassination in 1968, however, most Americans had a negative view of him, and the National Security Agency had tapped his overseas phone calls. As late as the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan could state that it was still an open question whether he had been a communist dupe, as King’s enemies at J Edgar Hoover’s FBI had long alleged. By the end of that decade, however, with a national holiday in his honour (reluctantly assented to by Reagan) and prize-winning biographies by Taylor Branch and David Garrow in print, King’s image had undergone a remarkable transformation. Scholars now argue about how much Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas influenced him, though the public often embraces a simpler image of King that renders his more radical racial and economic pronouncements in anodyne terms.

Jonathan Eig, author of a monumental biography of the boxer and activist Muhammad Ali, promises to give us a new King, fully rounded and appropriate for our own moment. His book aspires to “help us make our way through these troubled times” and arrives bearing copious endorsements from past biographers.

His subject was originally called Mike King Jr, named after his Baptist preacher father. King Sr, also known as Daddy King, later adopted the more auspicious name of the reforming German theologian for himself and his son. The family home was in Atlanta, and King’s independent-minded mother Alberta was the daughter of a minister who presided at Ebenezer Baptist church, where both father and son would preach.

Eig traces the nattily dressed and flirtatious King’s progress through his studies at Atlanta’s Morehouse College to Crozer Theological Seminary (where he committed one of his many acts of plagiarism) to his doctoral studies at Boston University, during which he met his future wife, Coretta Scott. Scott’s passion for civil rights and social reform, we learn, probably exceeded King’s. Once her husband became famous, she became an activist in her own right, going on the road to put her vocal training and organising passion to use in the service of the movement – even while raising their four children.

The event that changed the 26-year-old King’s life was the year-long bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, sparked when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white passenger in December 1955. King, a newcomer to the city as pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist church, was selected to lead the boycott partly because of his willingness to fight, and partly because he didn’t yet have rivals or enemies among the local Black leadership. The boycotters succeeded, aided by a supreme court victory. That victory made King the national face of a newly ascendant Black freedom movement.

Eig does an excellent job of tracing King’s interior struggles and self-doubts amid the sudden onslaught of media attention, threats, the bombing of his home and his near-death after being stabbed by a Black woman in Harlem. He also devotes sustained attention to the FBI’s campaign of bugging and harassment (authorised by Attorney General Robert Kennedy), which included sending King audiotape evidence of his extramarital affairs, along with a letter suggesting that he step down from leadership or perhaps kill himself before being exposed.

Those efforts intensified amid the events for which King is now most known: the Birmingham demonstrations of 1963, King’s famous speech at the March on Washington, the Selma-to-Montgomery march that pushed along the voting rights act of 1965, his effort to bring the movement north to the slums of Chicago, his receipt of the Nobel peace prize and his opposition to the Vietnam war. Eig also repeatedly defends King against the FBI’s charge that he was being manipulated by the small and ineffectual Communist Party USA. Although, in belabouring the point, he perhaps inadvertently lends credence to the Bureau’s framing of things – and lessens the reader’s appreciation of King’s own expansive vision of social justice for the poor and disenfranchised.

Eig takes the time to thoroughly document King’s many affairs – much of which we know about because of the FBI’s relentless surveillance. Along the way, he makes choices that will spark controversy for some, such as his inclusion (albeit sceptically) of David Garrow’s much-criticised claim that King may have “laughed and offered advice” while a fellow minister committed an act of rape – an accusation that originates with King’s enemies at the FBI and cannot be assessed until supporting documents are released in 2027.

At times, Eig’s book does give us hints of a King who might speak directly to our own times – for instance his advocacy of reparations for African Americans for centuries of bondage and oppression, although it is notable that his last effort, the poor people’s march on Washington, sought to recruit Chicanos, Native Americans, white coal miners and other groups to its cause. In general, however, the King we find here is one that previous biographers have charted. Eig’s thoroughly researched account updates their work, but aside from, for example, placing Coretta nearer the centre of the story and tracing the exact origins of the “I Have a Dream” section of the March on Washington speech, it mostly traces and deepens the tracks of a familiar story.

Above all it reveals a flawed man, self-doubting, hunted and persecuted by his enemies in the American government while still retaining enough faith to reach for visions of the future that went beyond those of many of his closest allies. At the time of his assassination, he was planning to deliver a sermon entitled “Why America may go to hell”.

Each generation ought to grapple with his life and legacy. For those seeking a readable and comprehensive account of King’s life, buttressed by extensive and up-to-date archival and oral history research, Eig’s book will remain essential reading – but certainly not the last word on its subject.