BOOK: Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Life

By Marshall Frady | Amazon.com | 216 pages
Published in December of 2005

SUMMARY: The duplicity of human nature is a conundrum. We are capable of extraordinary acts of greatness and kindness, while at the same time, we are capable of profound evil and harm. This is true of all humans; even those whose lives lead to monumental positive societal change such as Martin Luther King Jr. Marshall Fraday‘s Martin Luther King Jr.: A Life paints Martin as a fellow human being trying to find his place in the world. Is he doing the right thing? Is he the right leader for the movement? Is it time to give up? Does he change tactics? King deals with depression, failure, lust, success, and elation. Pride and humility, doubt, and fear war within him as he hashes out his vision for the civil rights movement.

“A benignly nebulous amnesia has settled over how in fact tenuous, fitful, and uncertain was his progress through those years from Montgomery to Memphis, and the final, truly revolutionary implications of his message,” Frady writes.

Over the years we have neutered the complicated human nature of King. Frady calls this the “pop beatification” of Martin that is commemorated with “parades, memorial concerts, schools and streets and parks named for him, his birthday a national holiday, his image on postage stamps.”

“To hallow a figure is almost always to hollow him. And the truth is, King was always a far more excruciatingly complex soul than the subsequent flattenings effected by his mass sanctification,” Frady pens.

One of the strengths Martin Luther King Jr.: A Life is its attention to detail. Frady has done extensive research, and his writing is rich with historical context and fascinating anecdotes. He does an excellent job of exploring King’s life from his early days as a Baptist minister in the South, to his rise as a civil rights leader, and ultimately, to his untimely death. The author provides a nuanced and balanced view of King, acknowledging both his strengths and weaknesses, and avoiding the trap of hagiography that so often plagues biographical works.

One of the recurring themes is King’s struggle with guilt. Guilt from imploring people to march and then getting beaten, imprisoned, and/or killed. Guilt from preaching from the pulpit with moral clarity, but having many extramarital relationships. The book is a stark reminder that even those that rise to greatness in history are still prone to the trite temptations of life.

From a Christian standpoint, it brings to mind Romans 7:15 where Paul says, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

The author draws on a wealth of primary and secondary sources, including King’s own writings and speeches, to paint a vivid picture of his life and legacy. Many of the events such as the bus boycott in Montgomery and the walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma will be familiar. Frady is skilled at keeping the story moving although, much like King’s speeches, there is sometimes an affinity for esoteric words that sometimes, although inspiring, can bog the reading down.

Overall, Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Life is an insightful and short introduction to the life and legacy of one of the most influential figures in modern American history and is recommended as an entry-level book into King’s life.

KEY QUOTE: “What the full-bodied reality of King should finally tell us, beyond all the awe and celebration of him, is how mysteriously mixed, in what torturously complicated forms, our moral heroes–our prophets–actually come to us.”

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