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Death of a King
- The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Year
- Narrated by: Tavis Smiley
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
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Publisher's summary
A revealing and dramatic chronicle of the 12 months leading up to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination.
Martin Luther King, Jr. died in one of the most shocking assassinations the world has known, but little is remembered about the life he led in his final year. New York Times best-selling author and award-winning broadcaster Tavis Smiley recounts the final 365 days of King's life, revealing the minister's trials and tribulations - denunciations by the press, rejection from the president, dismissal by the country's Black middle class and militants, assaults on his character, ideology, and political tactics, to name a few - all of which he had to rise above in order to lead and address the racism, poverty, and militarism that threatened to destroy our democracy.
Smiley's Death of a King paints a portrait of a leader and visionary in a narrative different from all that have come before. Here is an exceptional glimpse into King's life - one that adds both nuance and gravitas to his legacy as an American hero.
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"Tavis Smiley has captured not only the spirit of the movement, but the Spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. in his last days. We didn't realize it but he knew he was on his way to Jerusalem, and as much as we tried to deter him, he fought back." (Andrew Young, United States ambassador to the United Nations and former mayor of Atlanta)
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A look into the mind of Dr King
- By Georgia Burns on 02-06-16
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Three Days in Moscow
- Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Soviet Empire
- By: Bret Baier, Catherine Whitney
- Narrated by: Bret Baier
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In Three Days in Moscow, Baier explores the dramatic endgame of America’s long struggle with the Soviet Union and President Ronald Reagan’s central role in shaping the world we live in today. On May 31, 1988, Reagan stood on Russian soil and addressed a packed audience at Moscow State University, delivering a remarkable - yet now largely forgotten - speech that capped his first visit to the Soviet capital.
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Amazing!
- By Brian W. Barton on 05-20-18
By: Bret Baier, and others
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LBJ's 1968
- Power, Politics, and the Presidency in America's Year of Upheaval
- By: Kyle Longley
- Narrated by: Paul Brion
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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1968 was an unprecedented year in terms of upheaval on numerous scales: political, military, economic, social, cultural. In the United States, perhaps no one was more undone by the events of 1968 than President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Kyle Longley leads his listeners on a behind-the-scenes tour of what Johnson characterized as the 'year of a continuous nightmare'. Longley explores how LBJ perceived the most significant events of 1968, including the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Kennedy, and the violent Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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Worst year in my lifetime - LBJ tragedy of his own making - but not according to this Author.
- By charles wartelle on 05-17-19
By: Kyle Longley
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Waging a Good War
- A Military History of the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1968
- By: Thomas E. Ricks
- Narrated by: JD Jackson
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Thomas E. Ricks offers an utterly new perspective on America’s greatest moral revolution—the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s—and its legacy today. While the Movement has become synonymous with Martin Luther King Jr.’s ethos of nonviolence, Ricks draws on his deep knowledge of tactics and strategy to advance a surprising but revelatory idea: the greatest victories for Black Americans of the past century were won not by idealism alone, but through recruiting, training, discipline, and organization—the hallmarks of any successful military campaign.
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I was born and raised in Alabama. Jim Crow Era.
- By Moses Pitts on 10-06-22
By: Thomas E. Ricks
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Frederick Douglass
- Prophet of Freedom
- By: David W. Blight
- Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi
- Length: 36 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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As a young man, Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) escaped from slavery in Baltimore, Maryland. He was fortunate to have been taught to read by his slave owner mistress, and he would go on to become one of the major literary figures of his time. He wrote three versions of his autobiography over the course of his lifetime and published his own newspaper. His very existence gave the lie to slave owners: with dignity and great intelligence, he bore witness to the brutality of slavery.
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The sound of rollerskating in sand
- By Rico X Ludovici on 02-06-19
By: David W. Blight
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Malcolm X
- A Life of Reinvention
- By: Manning Marable
- Narrated by: G. Valmont Thomas
- Length: 22 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Of the great figure in 20th-century American history perhaps none is more complex and controversial than Malcolm X. Constantly rewriting his own story, he became a criminal, a minister, a leader, and an icon, all before being felled by assassins' bullets at age 39. Through his tireless work and countless speeches he empowered hundreds of thousands of black Americans to create better lives and stronger communities while establishing the template for the self-actualized, independent African American man.
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invites further reading on Malcolm X
- By connie on 05-14-11
By: Manning Marable
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The Radical King
- By: Cornel West - editor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- Narrated by: LeVar Burton, Gabourey Sidibe, Cornel West, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Wanda Sykes, LeVar Burton, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Gabourey Sidibe head a cast of beloved actors performing 23 selections from the speeches, sermons, and essays of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—many never recorded during his lifetime. For the first time, teachers, students, and thoughtful listeners can hear dramatic interpretations of Dr. King’s words, chosen and introduced by Cornel West.
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Not the best MLK audiobook
- By Nathan White on 02-07-19
By: Cornel West - editor, and others
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The Greatest Comeback
- How Richard Nixon Rose from Defeat to Create the New Majority
- By: Patrick J. Buchanan
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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After suffering stinging defeats in the 1960 presidential election against John F. Kennedy, and in the 1962 California gubernatorial election, Nixon's career was declared dead by Washington press and politicians alike. Yet on January 20, 1969, just six years after he had said his political life was over, Nixon would stand taking the oath of office as 37th President of the United States. How did Richard Nixon resurrect a ruined career and reunite a shattered and fractured Republican Party to capture the White House?
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The comeback kid
- By Jean on 07-23-14
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Bearing the Cross
- Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
- By: David J. Garrow
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 34 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Winner of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award, this is the most comprehensive book ever written about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. David J. Garrow had unrestricted access to Martin Luther King's personal papers, to thousands of pages of newly released FBI documents and more than 700 interviews with King's closest friends and enemies.
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great but long
- By Thomas on 04-29-10
By: David J. Garrow
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Gandhi & Churchill
- By: Arthur Herman
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 29 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In this fast-paced epic, best-selling historian and master storyteller Arthur Herman spotlights two giants of the 20th century. Gandhi & Churchill shows how their 40-year rivalry revolutionized India and the British Empire, paving the way for a new era. Gandhi championed India's independence, Churchill the British Empire.
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A motif that works well
- By Maine Dave on 11-30-09
By: Arthur Herman
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Costly Grace
- An Evangelical Minister's Rediscovery of Faith, Hope, and Love
- By: Rob Schenck
- Narrated by: Rob Schenck
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Rob Schenck’s extraordinary life has been at the center of the intersection between evangelical Christianity and modern politics. Attacked by partisans on both sides of the aisle, he has been called a "right-wing hate monger", the "ultimate D.C. power-broker", a "traitor", and "turncoat." Now, this influential spiritual adviser to America’s political class chronicles his controversial, sometimes troubling career in this revelatory and often shocking memoir. He reflects on his path to God, his unconscious abandonment of his principles, and his return to the convictions that guide him.
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One of the most moving testimonials ever heard!
- By E. Wright on 07-10-18
By: Rob Schenck
What listeners say about Death of a King
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- trainwithdavid
- 01-27-15
Stellar, exemplary, laudatory
Tavis Smiley narrated this book perfectly. I will listen to this book again and again. I urge anyone that has interest in American history to purchase this book immediately you will not be disappointed, in fact you will be enlightened above all. Thank you Travis :-)
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- shane p
- 05-20-16
Rewritten History The Right Way
If you let them tell it, Dr. King's assassination comes shortly after his I Have a Dream speech. But this book bridges the gap between that day on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and 5 years later, his final moment of life. I learned so much more about the man and less about the deified martyr. Well done Tavis, we'll done.
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- Julia
- 09-28-14
Completely engaging, edifying and entertaining
What did you love best about Death of a King?
I loved the pace of the book, the amount of context that TS provides, the insight into the characters and the motivations of each.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Of course, MLK.
Which scene was your favorite?
I don't have a particular favorite, but what struck me most forcefully was the evolving recognition that his spiritual commitment to peace related to his feeling about the war and about Negro civil rights.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
The book made me laugh many times, MLK had a great sense of humor. The quotes from many of the speeches made me cry. They were deeply spiritual and moving. His death, of course and the reading of the eulogy that MLK wrote for another fallen civil rights leader, made me cry from sadness and awe.
Any additional comments?
I have always known that MLK was a Reverend and a civil rights leader, but I had never read anything that so clearly linked his ever-evolving relationship to God with his views about Negro (as he referred to it) civil rights and about Vietnam. This book did a great job chronicling this spiritual path without being a "religious" text. It was also astounding to me to read about how reviled MLK was by the Black community leadership and by the press at the time of his death, all of this has faded from our minds. Thank you TS for reminding us about how far advanced MLK was in his spiritual path and how little we understood about his inner journey and where he had arrived at at the time of his death. I also loved TS's voice reading- thank you TS for reading this yourself! Yours was the perfect voice to share this good news, it lent authenticity and conveyed deep love and commitment.
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- Lynette Parker
- 07-09-19
So enlightening
I am so appreciative of this book. I was able to grasp the struggle that Dr. King endured in his last year. It makes sense why this book did not fair well. The truth was exposed and it was not pretty.
Thank you Tavis. Thank you for educating us
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- JuceCaiman
- 10-19-16
a true in depth look.
I loved every part of this excpt the reader. story was outstanding and to see the uncovered sides of Dr. MLK makes me realize how human and how determined he was in his mission. love his legacy all the more.
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-30-23
A must read/listen to
One of my favorite audio books I’ve ever listened to so far. Wish it was longer honestly but will definitely listen to over again
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- Jelani Smith
- 04-05-15
Remember the king
One of the most important stories in American history. a must read, for anyone of any age, wanting to learn how to be more loving and never give up hope.
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- Dameon B. Butler
- 02-07-17
Gone too soon
Incredibly informative and educational. The last chapter of an incredible man. Gone far too soon.
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- Vincent K.
- 04-26-19
The story behind the man, the figure, the legend!
This book shows Dr. King's human struggles and internal fortitude for the cause of the world, his nation and most of all his people.
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- ezkeyl
- 06-25-21
Sobering...
You never know what goes on behind closed door! Truly offers incredibile insight of Dr. King!
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