Books About King
For a deep dive into King’s life intertwined with a full history of the civil rights movement, see Taylor Branch’s magisterial trilogy, America in the King Years. For powerful single-volume biographies, see David Garrow’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Bearing The Cross, and Thomas F. Jackson’s From Civil Rights to Human Rights. For books exploring specific moments and dimensions of King’s life, see below. For books by King, see the second section halfway down the page.
Marc Andrus: Brothers in the Beloved Community: The Friendship of Thich Nhat Hanh and Martin Luther King Jr.
Lewis V. Baldwin:
- The Voice of Conscience: The Church in the Mind of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Never to Leave Us Alone: The Prayer Life of Martin Luther King Jr.
- Toward the Beloved Community: Martin Luther King, Jr., and South Africa.
Lewis V. Baldwin & Rufus Burrow (editors). The Domestication of Martin Luther King Jr.: Clarence B. Jones, Right-Wing Conservatism, and the Manipulation of the King Legacy.
Lewis V. Baldwin & Vicki L. Crawford: Reclaiming the Great World House: The Global Vision of Martin Luther King Jr.
Lewis V. Baldwin & Paul R. Dekar (editors). In an Inescapable Network of Mutuality: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Globalization of an Ethical Ideal.
Rufus Burrow Jr.: A Child Shall Lead Them: Martin Luther King Jr., Young People, and the Movement.
Clayborne Carson: Martin’s Dream: My Journey and the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Bidyut Chakrabarty: Confluence of Thought: Mahatma Gandhi And Martin Luther King, Jr.
Michael Eric Dyson: I May Not Get There with You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mary Lou Finley, Bernard LaFayette Jr., James R. Ralph Jr., & Pam Smith (editors). The Chicago Freedom Movement: Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights Activism in the North.
Drew D. Hansen: The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Speech that Inspired a Nation.
Vincent Harding: Martin Luther King: The Inconvenient Hero.
Michael K. Honey: Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King’s Last Campaign.
Michael K. Honey: To the Promised Land: Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice.
Luther D. Ivory: Toward a Theology of Radical Involvement: The Theological Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Kenneth D. Johnson: Telos 182 (Spring 2018): Martin Luther King, Jr.: Fifty Years On.
Clarence B. Jones: Behind the Dream: The Making of the Speech That Transformed a Nation.
Peniel E. Joseph: The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
Christine King Farris: Through It All: Reflections on My Life, My Family, and My Faith.
Coretta Scott King: My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dexter Scott King: Growing Up King: An Intimate Memoir.
Martin Luther King, Sr. Daddy King: An Autobiography.
Sylvie Laurent: King and the Other America: the Poor People’s Campaign and the Quest for Economic Equality.
Richard Lischer: The Preacher King: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Word that Moved America.
David Margolick: The Promise and the Dream: The Untold Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. And Robert F. Kennedy.
Gerald McKnight: The Last Crusade: Martin Luther King Jr., The FBI, And The Poor People’s Campaign.
Keith D. Miller: Voice of Deliverance: The Language of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Its Sources.
Keith D. Miller: Martin Luther King’s Biblical Epic: His Final, Great Speech.
Patrick Parr: The Seminarian: Martin Luther King Jr. Comes of Age.
Justin Rose: The Drum Major Instinct: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Theory of Political Service.
Joseph Rosenbloom: Redemption: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Last 31 Hours.
Tommie Shelby & Brandon M. Terry (editors): To Shape a New World: Essays on the Political Philosophy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Tavis Smiley: Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Final Year.
Jason Sokol: The Heavens Might Crack: The Death and Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Andrew Young: An Easy Burden: The Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of America.
Books By King: The King Legacy Series
A partnership between the Martin Luther King estate and Beacon Press, the King Legacy Series has published Martin Luther King’s three full-length books, as well as collections of speeches, sermons, and writings organized by theme.
Full-Length Books by King
Introduction by Clayborne Carson: Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story.
Afterword by Jesse Jackson: Why We Can’t Wait.
Foreword by Coretta Scott King, Introduction by Vincent Harding: Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?
Edited Collections
Edited and with an introduction by Cornel West: The Radical King.
Introduction by Walter Dean Myers: A Time to Break Silence: The Essential Works of Martin Luther King, Jr., for Students.
Edited and with an introduction by Lewis V. Baldwin: In a Single Garment of Destiny: A Global Vision of Justice.
Edited and with an introduction by Lewis V. Baldwin: “Thou, Dear God”: Prayers That Open Hearts and Spirits.
Foreword by Coretta Scott King, edited by Raphael G. Warnock: A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings.
Edited by Michael K. Honey: “All Labor Has Dignity”.
Foreword by Coretta Scott King: The Trumpet of Conscience.
Books by King: Stanford’s MLK Papers and Publications
Stanford’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute has edited seven volumes of King’s collected papers, as well as four other volumes, under the directorship of Clayborne Carson.
The Martin Luther King, Jr., Encyclopedia.
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin.
The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Volume I: Called to Serve, January 1929-June 1951.
The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Volume III: Birth of a New Age, December 1955-December 1956.
The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Volume IV: Symbol of the Movement, January 1957-December 1958.