Pillar of Fire: Martin Luther King

Taylor Branch’s Pillar of Fire covers the epic years of 1963 to 1965 in the civil rights movement. It is the second volume of his trilogy. Parting the Waters, the first book, was honored with the Pulitzer Prize. At Canaan’s Edge is the final tome. Notwithstanding his personal foibles, which Branch confronts and details, Dr. Martin Luther King looms more than ever as a towering figure. It is to King that Branch returns to almost as a pole star to chart his historical course.

Interview by David Barsamian.

Recorded at KGNU.