KING

A trimmed-down version of Eig’s much-lauded 2024 Pulitzer Prize winner for adult readers.

In an epilogue, Eig states his intention to portray a great man who also happened to be a human being who “chewed his fingernails, shouted at the TV during game shows, and got mediocre grades in school.” If too many such homely details are missing or relegated to multiple pages of bulleted “Extra Facts” in the backmatter to bring King particularly close to younger audiences, in their often-dramatic recitation of his career and magnificent accomplishments the co-authors do describe both his history of plagiarism and his serial infidelity. They also include clear proof that, like all of us, he was subject to piercing doubts, fears, failures of nerve, and errors of judgment. The skimpy selection of photos will leave readers wishing for more, but discussion questions and lavish source notes offer plenty of pathways to further research. And, as if King’s violent death and that of so many others in the struggle for civil rights weren’t evidence enough, direct transcriptions of a threatening phone call and a rabid hate letter (composed by the FBI) give chilling proof of the scope of the racism he faced. This searching study leaves King’s shining legacy intact, all the more admirable for its attachment to a fallible man who is glimpsed here behind the icon.

A frank and nuanced character study, though its subject remains an august and somewhat remote figure.