Kennedy and King Audiobook By Steven Levingston cover art

Kennedy and King

The President, the Pastor, and the Battle over Civil Rights

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Kennedy and King

By: Steven Levingston
Narrated by: Dan Woren
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $40.49

Buy for $40.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

A New York Times Editors' Choice Pick.

Kennedy and King traces the emergence of two of the 20th century's greatest leaders, their powerful impact on each other, and on the shape of the civil rights battle between 1960 and 1963. These two men from starkly different worlds profoundly influenced each other's personal development. Kennedy's hesitation on civil rights spurred King to greater acts of courage, and King inspired Kennedy to finally make a moral commitment to equality. As America still grapples with the legacy of slavery and the persistence of discrimination, Kennedy and King is a vital, vivid contribution to the literature of the Civil Rights Movement.

©2017 Steven Levingston (P)2017 Hachette Audio Americas Politicians Politics & Activism Presidents & Heads of State United States Civil rights Royalty Equality Social movement Social justice Africa

Critic reviews

"Kennedy and King is an unqualified masterpiece of historical narrative...A landmark achievement." (Douglas Brinkley, New York Times best-selling author of Rosa Parks)
"By reminding us of these great leaders and their accomplishments, this book will fuel your passion for the new work we still need to do in our society today." (Congressman John Lewis)
All stars
Most relevant  
Enjoyed Very Much! Remarkable And Terrible Time In The United States.


True and Important History!

Important American History

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have read many books on the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's, and have traveled to Alabama to see where "history happened." This story however, by focusing on the two primary characters presents a very different spin on how change actually happened. Throughout this book, you see how JFK morphed from a politician looking for votes to a man of principle...and how RFK was actually one of the true heroes of this era. The narrator was spectacular, changing accents to reflect the different characters. This is truly one of those audio books where every thing just comes alive.

A captivating "listen"

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book strips away the noise, the reverence, and the mythological cloaks. It shows the relationship between Kennedy and King as it really was. Excellent history. The audio was BRILLIANT!

Kennedy and King in Context

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The reader Dan Woren does dramatic impersonations for King, Kennedy and other historical figures in the book which can get grating at times. Woren's impersonations of female voices were especially silly. The text could be repetitive. Number of times King was described as "the civil rights leader" was very high.
On the good side, the interactions between King and Kennedy were fascinating but not terribly numerous so a lot of background was required. As someone who has read a Kennedy bio there was new information to digest.
If you can stand the impersonations this is a good book for you. If not you should give it a pass.

Voices Too Much

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I've only recently gotten into audio books. Over the past 2.5 years, I have listened to about 30 audio books. This by far, was the best performance in the reading of a book. I loved the different voices used for each major character. It being a well written story helps in providing the reader with such a great book to read.

Great Book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great detail and connecting of the dots made this an easy read. The reading was also so well done.

Brought history to life

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.