I'd like to read a biography of Martin Luther King Jr.  Is there one that is considered the best?

Ooh, Thank you for asking.  I'm very interested in the answer.

 Taylor Branch's 3 volume life of America during the King Years  (Parting the Waters, Pillar of Fire, and At Canaan's Edge) would probably be considered to be the best biographies of King.  Branch is a terrific storyteller and researcher.  I suggest checking out the audio version of Clayborne Carson's Autobiography of MLK . Michael Eric Dyson's book I May Not Get There With You provides a complex analysis of a complex man. I worked on volume one of the MLK Papers and have long been intrigued by the media's seeming policy of ignoring the last five years of his life. Dyson looks at King as a man, a husband, a father, and a preacher.  He also  addresses the role of the King family in maintaining King's intellectual legacy. One last suggestion is to read The Testament of Hope: A collection of King's essential writing.  I hope that you find my suggestions to be of use. Jacqueline

Just joined the club about a month ago, and perhaps by now you have read several. The three volume life by Taylor Branch no doubt is and will be regarded as definitive. I have only been able to afford one of them, though, and putting them on wish list or searching for the others has been fruitless. Stephen B. Oates wrote one titled Let The Trumpet Sound. in 1982. It has over 50 pp of documentation and should at least give one a pretty thorough grasp of the territory.

Dr. John T. West, III

aka wildhog3