Build The Dream Blog

New Book On Dr. King

Hometown Source heads its list of summer reading with a new book on Dr. King.

“The Word of the Lord is Upon Me,” by Jonathan Rieder (Harvard University Press, $29.95) takes a hard look at the enigmatic personality of Martin Luther King, basing his book on speeches, texts, and interviews with those who knew King best. Harvard prof Henry Louis Gates calls Rieder’s book “brilliant,” explaining that King’s command of both standard English and African American idioms made him the stunning preacher and leader he was.

Was MLK's Murderer Falsely Accused?

A nonfiction novel serving to defend the convicted murderer of Dr. Martin Luther King, Truth At Last gives a new perspective on the events leading up to and surrounding Dr. King's death. The author also insinuates the government conspired to frame the accused.

Full story here

According to EURweb.com, a new book by the brother of James Earl Ray, who was convicted of killing Dr. Martin Luther King, sets out to prove that Ray was not Dr. King's murderer.

TRUTH AT LAST: The Untold Story Behind James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. by John Larry Ray (and coauthor Lyndon Barsten), the 75-year-old brother of James Earl Ray, claims that there's forensic evidence that proves his brother did not assassinate Dr. King. The book also includes conversations between the brothers where James thinks he was being set up.

"Martin Luther King Jr. was a man admired by millions, but my brother didn't kill him," John told the New York Daily News. "I believe my brother was not only misused by conspirators within our government but also greatly misconstrued as a 'racist' and a 'murderer' by the media."
James Early Ray confessed to shooting Dr. King, but then took back his confession three days later. He died in 1998.

A nonfiction novel serving to defend the convicted murderer of Dr. Martin Luther King, Truth At Last gives a new perspective on the events leading up to and surrounding Dr. King's death. The author also insinuates the government conspired to frame the accused.

Full story here

According to EURweb.com, a new book by the brother of James Earl Ray, who was convicted of killing Dr. Martin Luther King, sets out to prove that Ray was not Dr. King's murderer.

TRUTH AT LAST: The Untold Story Behind James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. by John Larry Ray (and coauthor Lyndon Barsten), the 75-year-old brother of James Earl Ray, claims that there's forensic evidence that proves his brother did not assassinate Dr. King. The book also includes conversations between the brothers where James thinks he was being set up.

"Martin Luther King Jr. was a man admired by millions, but my brother didn't kill him," John told the New York Daily News. "I believe my brother was not only misused by conspirators within our government but also greatly misconstrued as a 'racist' and a 'murderer' by the media."
James Early Ray confessed to shooting Dr. King, but then took back his confession three days later. He died in 1998.

On The Road To Freedom

Acknowledging a work such as On The Road To Freedom should not be seen as an endorsement by The Dream Blog. But from time to time, we will be pointing out books that might be of interest to our readers.

As much a travel guide, as it is a history of the early Civil Rights movement, Cobb's book may be of interest to our readers. Story here and the Amazon dot com link here.

I wanted to write a book people could actually use, and a travel book seemed to be the way to do it," said Cobb, who was a field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the Mississippi Delta in the 1960s. "But while this is a travel book, I also consciously wrote it as a story ... I was trying to put things into the mix of the historical discussion, both in terms of place and in terms of people - especially women - who simply are virtually unknown."

NEW YORK—If you drive six miles southwest of Anniston, Ala., you'll pass the spot where a bus was bombed in 1961 and the passengers - civil rights activists known as Freedom Riders - were beaten by a mob. There's no marker there, but it's one of 400 places in a new book called "On the Road to Freedom: A Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail" (Algonquin Books, $18.95).

Many of the sites included in the book are well-known - like the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, now the National Civil Rights Museum. But Charles E. Cobb Jr., who wrote "On the Road to Freedom," says he also wanted to include little-known places - like the road near Anniston - "for the person who has a real interest in the civil rights movement and is not necessarily your ordinary tourist."