To the Mountaintop: Martin Luther King's Mission and its Meaning for America

In this intimate portrait of the Civil Rights Movement and its greatest leader, historian Stewart Burns weaves the spiritual and political dimensions of Dr. King's life and the movement for freedom into a single garment. The spiritual and political dimensions illuminate each other. Told with a vivid narrative, mining unmined sources, To the Mountaintop shows how his Christian faith and his self-conception as chosen but unworthy messiah, facing death daily, became his guiding forces in his life and leadership. Praise for the first edition: "Thoroughly researched and gracefully written, To the Mountaintop is a brilliant interpretation of Martin Luther King Jr.'s vocation to save America. Anyone who wishes to understand King and the civil rights movement cannot afford to miss this book." Rev. Dr. James H. Cone, Union Theological Seminary, founder of Black liberation theology, author of God of the Oppressed and Martin and Malcolm and America "For those of us who knew Martin Luther King Jr. and were involved in the Southern movement, but also for all Americans, Stewart Burns brings wonderfully alive both the man himself and those exciting, inspiring times." Howard Zinn, activist historian, author, A People's History of the United States Highly regarded historian of the Black freedom movement, author or editor of eight books, Professor Burns is renowned for his 2004 biography of Dr. King, To the Mountaintop (HarperCollins), winner of the prestigious Wilbur Award for conveying religious ideas to secular readers. Clergy and lay people of various faiths praised his lucid portrayal of King's spiritual journey and its impact on his leadership in civil rights, human rights, and world peace. The new edition, a penetrating spiritual biography, is enriched by twelve years of the author's further research and theological exploration.