King: A LifeKing: A Life
What it's about
The first major biography of Martin Luther King Jr. in decades, and the first to draw on recently released FBI files. Jonathan Eig follows King from his childhood in Atlanta through the Montgomery bus boycott, Birmingham, the March on Washington, the Nobel Prize and Selma, to his final years of fighting poverty and the Vietnam War, often alone and under constant FBI surveillance, until his assassination in Memphis at thirty-nine.
Why it's worth reading
It brings King down from the monument and back to life as a real person: funny, doubting, exhausted, flawed and extraordinarily brave. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography and reads with the pace of a thriller.
You'll love it if you liked
Parting the Waters : America in the King Years 1954-63
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
Between the World and MeGood to know
It's long, nearly 700 pages, but written in brisk, short chapters. It covers King's personal failings, including infidelity, along with his achievements.
By the numbers
- Readers100 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics71 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller33 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz51 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #7 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #9 of the 481 new books we rank
- #34 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story
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Quick answers
Is King: A Life worth reading?
Yes. It brings King down from the monument and back to life as a real person: funny, doubting, exhausted, flawed and extraordinarily brave. It ranks #34 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 90.2 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is King: A Life about?
The first major biography of Martin Luther King Jr. in decades, and the first to draw on recently released FBI files. Jonathan Eig follows King from his childhood in Atlanta through the Montgomery bus boycott, Birmingham, the March on Washington, the Nobel Prize and Selma, to his final years of fighting poverty and the Vietnam War, often alone and under constant FBI surveillance, until his assassination in Memphis at thirty-nine.
How long does it take to read King: A Life?
About 17 hours (688 pages), or about 5 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has King: A Life won?
Pulitzer Prize (Biography) winner (2024).
What should I read after King: A Life?
If you liked it, try Parting the Waters : America in the King Years 1954-63 by Taylor Branch, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson or Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.