M.L.K.: The Journey of a King
Starred Review.Grade 5–8—Bolden looks past the public figure to bring the man, and his deeper vision of the "beloved community," into focus in this eloquent, handsomely designed profile. Familiarly calling him "M.L." (a nickname his father used) throughout, the author traces King's life from birth to death, pointing out how reluctantly he assumed the mantle of leadership, then came to espouse Gandhi's nonviolence as a guiding precept, and finally exhausted himself battling not only for civil rights, but also against the Civil Rights Movement's later tide of radicalism. Captions paired to the generous array of photos add further detail, and advanced readers will get fuller pictures of the man and his era from the appended multimedia resource list. Passing quickly over his public triumphs (the "I Have a Dream" speech, for instance, is largely relegated to a caption noting that he had used that refrain before), this portrait, rich in personal feeling and well endowed with direct, sometimes extended, quotes, will leave readers with a strong, and perhaps inspiring, sense of the passion and depth of Dr. King's commitment to peace with justice.—John Peters, New York Public LibraryCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.