On the eve of Martin Luther King Day and the 57th Presidential Inauguration, David Levering Lewis celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he discussed his work King: A Biography. Acclaimed by leading historians and critics when it appeared shortly after the death of Dr. King, this foundational biography wends through the corridors in which King held court, posing the right questions and providing a keen measure of the man whose career and mission enthrall scholars and general readers to this day. Updated with a new preface and more than a dozen photographs of King and his contemporaries, this edition presents the unforgettable story of King’s life and death for a new generation. Watch the event below.
David Levering Lewis is Julius Silver University Professor and professor of history at New York University. Each volume of his two-volume W. E. B. Du Bois biography won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography. He is the author of eight books and editor of two more.
...in its thoughtful and thorough early review of Dr. King’s legacy. I am deeply grateful it is being introduced to a new generation of readers and commend it to all.”
—Marian Wright Edelman, President, Children's Defense Fund
—Charles V. Hamilton, New York Times Book Review
—a readable narrative full of historical insight. He judiciously illuminates King’s achievements while also acknowledging his flaws and limitations. Subsequent studies have provided more detailed accounts of various aspects of King’s life, but Lewis’s perceptive portrait continues to reward readers seeking to understand King’s historical significance.”
—Clayborne Carson, Director, Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute
For information on how to purchase a copy of King: A Biography by David Levering Lewis, please visit the Univeristy of Illinois Press.