Book Review: The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rating: 5 stars of 5

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words still make me cry today, some 25+ years after I first heard them in school. This man with his dream, his hopes for equality, brotherhood, and a nation that would actually live up to its ideals; this man who lived and died for what he believed in a country that has still not yet fully reckoned with its history of and ongoing participation in injustice.

The first time I picked up The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., I had just finished reading another of his books and there was a lot of overlapping content in the two, so I had set this one back down to return to later. Well, “later” came this month, and I am so glad I have now finished reading this one too. Dr. King’s life and words are so poignant and inspiring. I am always amazed by how timeless his speeches seem, the truths in them stretching in relevance across centuries and eras and generations.

If you are a millennial who grew up watching Reading Rainbow, you may be as delighted as I was to learn that LeVar Burton is the narrator of the audio book version of this title. I listened to him read it as I read from my paperback copy and it was such a nostalgic treat! Do be aware, however, that the audio version is abridged. If you want the full text, you will need to read from the hard copy. That said, the audio book also includes audio recordings of Dr. King delivering his speeches where they appear in the text, which really adds to the reading experience. I really enjoyed reading from both and switching back and forth as needed.

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the book:

“It has been my conviction ever since reading Rauschenbusch that any religion that professes concern for the souls of men and is not equally concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion only waiting for the day to be buried. It has well been said: ‘A religion that ends with the individual, ends.’”

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