
Pillar of Fire
America in the King Years 1963-65
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Narrated by:
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Janina Edwards
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Prentice Onayemi
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By:
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Taylor Branch
About this listen
From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Taylor Branch, the second part of his epic trilogy on Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American Civil Rights Movement. In the second volume of his three-part history, a monumental trilogy that began with Parting the Waters, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, Taylor Branch portrays the Civil Rights Movement at its zenith, recounting the climactic struggles as they commanded the national stage.
Beginning with the Nation of Islam and conflict over racial separatism, Pillar of Fire takes the listener to Mississippi and Alabama: Birmingham, the murder of Medgar Evers, the "March on Washington," the Civil Rights Act, and voter registration drives. In 1964, King is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Branch's magnificent trilogy makes clear why the Civil Rights Movement, and indeed King's leadership, are among the nation's enduring achievements. In bringing these decades alive, preserving the integrity of those who marched and died, Branch gives us a crucial part of our history and heritage.
©2007 Taylor Branch (P)2019 Simon & Schuster AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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- By Amazon Customer on 05-18-19
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American Sphinx
- The Character of Thomas Jefferson
- By: Joseph J. Ellis
- Narrated by: Susan O'Malley
- Length: 15 hrs
- Unabridged
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For a man who insisted that life on the public stage was not what he had in mind, Thomas Jefferson certainly spent a great deal of time in the spotlight. Historian Joseph J. Ellis sifts the facts shrewdly from the legends and the rumors, treading a path between vilification and hero worship in order to formulate a plausible portrait of the man who still today "hover[s] over the political scene like one of those dirigibles cruising above a crowded football stadium, flashing words of inspiration to both teams".
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Jefferson, As Seen By Big Government
- By FredZarguna on 06-01-23
By: Joseph J. Ellis
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The Sleepwalkers
- How Europe Went to War in 1914
- By: Christopher Clark
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 23 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 is historian Christopher Clark’s riveting account of the explosive beginnings of World War I. Drawing on new scholarship, Clark offers a fresh look at World War I, focusing not on the battles and atrocities of the war itself, but on the complex events and relationships that led a group of well-meaning leaders into brutal conflict.
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Excellent, but
- By James A. Nietopski on 03-12-22
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If
- The Untold Story of Kipling's American Years
- By: Christopher Benfey
- Narrated by: Joshua Kane
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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At the turn of the 20th century, Rudyard Kipling towered over not just English literature, but the entire literary world. At the height of his fame in 1907, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming its youngest winner. His influence on major figures - including Freud and William James - was pervasive and profound. But in recent decades Kipling’s reputation has suffered a strange eclipse.
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Chris Benfey’s ‘IF’ A MUST AUDIOBOOK
- By Glen W. Stinnett on 09-23-19
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Possessed by Memory
- The Inward Light of Criticism
- By: Harold Bloom
- Narrated by: Stephen Mendel
- Length: 16 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In arguably his most personal and lasting work, America's most daringly original and controversial critic gives us brief, luminous readings of more than 80 texts by canonical authors - texts he has had by heart since childhood.
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What an endowment!
- By Norman on 04-03-21
By: Harold Bloom
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The Castle on Sunset
- Life, Death, Love, Art, and Scandal at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont
- By: Shawn Levy
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Since 1929, Hollywood’s brightest stars have flocked to the Chateau Marmont as if it were a second home. An apartment building-turned-hotel, the Chateau has been the backdrop for generations of gossip and folklore: where director Nicholas Ray slept with his 16-year-old Rebel Without a Cause star Natalie Wood; Jim Morrison swung from the balconies; John Belushi suffered a fatal overdose; and Lindsay Lohan got the boot after racking up nearly $50,000 in charges in less than two months. Much of what has happened inside the Chateau’s walls has eluded the public eye - until now.
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Was enjoying it until...
- By leigh on 04-22-20
By: Shawn Levy
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The Last Leonardo
- The Secret Lives of the World's Most Expensive Painting
- By: Ben Lewis
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2017, Leonardo da Vinci’s small oil painting the Salvator Mundi was sold at auction. In the words of its discoverer, the image of Christ as savior of the world is “the rarest thing on the planet.” Its $450 million sale price also makes it the world’s most expensive painting. For two centuries, art dealers had searched in vain for the Holy Grail of art history: a portrait of Christ as the Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci. Many similar paintings of greatly varying quality had been executed by Leonardo’s assistants in the early 16th century.
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Definitely makes you think.
- By John Galt on 04-20-21
By: Ben Lewis
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Lincoln on the Verge
- Thirteen Days to Washington
- By: Ted Widmer
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders, Ted Widmer
- Length: 16 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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As a divided nation plunges into the deepest crisis in its history, Abraham Lincoln boards a train for Washington and his inauguration - an inauguration Southerners have vowed to prevent by any means necessary. Drawing on new research, this account reveals the president-elect as a work in progress, showing him on the verge of greatness, foiling an assassination attempt, and forging an unbreakable bond with the American people.
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A perfect listen for our divided times.
- By Jonathan W White on 12-06-20
By: Ted Widmer
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The Quiet Americans
- Four CIA Spies at the Dawn of the Cold War - a Tragedy in Three Acts
- By: Scott Anderson
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean, Scott Anderson
- Length: 22 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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At the end of World War II, the United States was considered the victor over tyranny and a champion of freedom. But it was clear—to some—that the Soviet Union was already seeking to expand and foment revolution around the world, and the American government’s strategy in response relied on the secret efforts of a newly formed CIA. Chronicling their fascinating lives, Scott Anderson follows the exploits of four spies. Despite their ambitions, time and again their efforts went awry, thwarted by ham-fisted politicking and ideological rigidity at the highest levels of the government.
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A Tragedy for One
- By Amazon Customer on 09-23-20
By: Scott Anderson
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Chasing the Thrill
- Obsession, Death, and Glory in America's Most Extraordinary Treasure Hunt
- By: Daniel Barbarisi
- Narrated by: Daniel Barbarisi
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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When Forrest Fenn was given a fatal cancer diagnosis, he came up with a bold plan: He would hide a chest full of jewels and gold in the wilderness, and publish a poem that would serve as a map leading to the treasure's secret location. But he didn't die, and after hiding the treasure in 2010, Fenn instead presided over a decade-long gold rush that saw many thousands of treasure hunters scrambling across the Rocky Mountains in pursuit of his fortune.
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Wonderful Adventure!
- By Smartypants on 05-25-21
By: Daniel Barbarisi
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Beyond the Throne
- Epic Journeys, Enduring Friendships, and Surprising Tales
- By: Kristian Nairn
- Narrated by: Kristian Nairn
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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The story of an unlikely hero who fulfilled his destiny… Fans will be fascinated by Kristian Nairn’s experience on Game of Thrones, from his unlikely audition to his on-the-job training as an actor to his ascendance as one of the most beloved and pivotal characters on the show. Nairn details the camaraderie that develops as the actors face the elements on set, not entirely unlike the ones their characters must endure on screen, as well as the life-altering effects of worldwide stardom.
By: Kristian Nairn
What listeners say about Pillar of Fire
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Chris Hummel
- 02-19-22
Excellent Treatment of Movement's Middle Years
This second in Branch's series of biographies/histories of the Civil Rights movement, building to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is perhaps a bit less engaging then his first (Parting the Waters). In part, it is because the first six chapters or so of this work run over the same ground (even using some of the same language) as the end of the earlier work, albeit slightly enriched by a discussion of northern and urban Civil Rights struggles, with special focus on Elijah Mohammed and Malcolm X. Branch has no special love for either of these men, with more venom (understandably) reserved for Mohammed. Though sometimes sympathetically, Malcolm is presented as a figure who is often unfocused and perhaps undecided in his approach, especially after his open break with Mohammed. He largely presents Malcolm's legend, as presented in his posthumous autobiography, as having larger impact than he had in his lifetime. Branch also continues the fractious story of the mainline movement, its conflicts between elements (SNCC, SCLC) and individual leaders over policy and personality moving from the late Kennedy to early Johnson administration. King and other leaders' marital infidelities and other short comings are discussed in terms of the Hoover FBI's efforts to exploit them and discredit them (ultimately unsuccessful). Branch's extensive study of tapes and documents from major figures, including wire tap reports give us a close view of a movement under pressure and scrutiny. Despite a few minor issues, I look forward to hearing volume 3, when even the limited consensus within the movement begins to break down after the victories of 1964 and 1965 in relation to Vietnam and the continued problems of race in America.
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- Bill Branham
- 12-10-21
The Details behind the Story
Make it come alive. Sometimes you feel like you are in the room listening to the dialog. The narration is excellent. Their voices are both calming and conveying information in a way that is easy to accept . I find the switching of narrator's each chapter is a great technique.
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