Let the Trumpet Sound
A Life of Martin Luther King Jr.

I found myself unacceptably ignorant of the Civil Rights Movement. I took this biography to inform me of the movement through its most known figure. As I read the book I realized that my ignorance of the subject was on a much higher level than I had imagined. The book begins by telling the story of K......more

Nonviolent, Integrated and Dignified “Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them, is a spiritually moribund religion.” A philosopher as w......more

This is a good biography but Oates writes in a very slow, dull pedantic style that doesn't bring King to life. More excerpts from his speeches would have enlivened the story.......more

MLK’s life fascinates me. I think since I learned about him and the civil rights movement in elementary school, details and stories about his life captivate me. Many people want to reduce MLK down to a saint, a communist, a charismatic leader, a prophet, a man of secret pleasures, or anything that is......more

Summary: A dated but well-written biography of Martin Luther King Jr.  I don't remember who suggested it, but someone, about four years ago, recommended Let the Trumpet Sounds as the best biography of Martin Luther King Jr. I picked up the Kindle edition back in early 2018 and just got......more