Told with a vivid narrative, using unmined sources, To the Mountaintop delves into the crucial last years of King’s life to show how his Christian faith and his sense of himself as a chosen but unworthy messiah became the guiding forces in his life and leadership.
In this intimate history of the civil rights movement and its greatest leader, historian Stewart Burns weaves the political and spiritual dimensions of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and of the movement into a single whole in which each illuminates the other. Told with a vivid narrative, using unmined sources, To the Mountaintopdelves into the crucial last years of King’s life to show how his Christian faith and his sense of himself as a chosen but unworthy messiah became the guiding forces in his life and leadership.
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.
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.
Praise for the new, 2nd edition:
“This book is the best treatment of Martin Luther King’s faith that I have seen, and an incredibly thorough exploration of the ways faith was fundamentally central to Dr. King’s vision, action, and perspective on mission and civil rights. In this book we see the full extent of what it means to form a spiritual commitment to justice, activism, and equality, and are reminded of what we are called to do for others, our society, and ourselves. This edition presents a strikingly nuanced and human vision of the civil rights leader and reverend we are all familiar with.”
Jim Wallis, New York Times bestselling author of America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a New America, president of Sojourners, and editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine:
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
