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Parting the Waters: Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement 1954-63 by Taylor Branch
adamvolle's review
5.0
I think the value of reading about a human-rights triumph like the Civil Rights Movement in the amount of detail that Branch provides here—and he is an excellent writer who makes it painless—is that it not only corrects the misleading record promulgated by modern society, but also de-mythologizes it, putting such heroism back within our own capabilities.
mattrohn's review
informative
medium-paced
5.0
This is a great massive history-through-biography-as-lens - only serious criticism is that it seems to waver in how much it cares about King individually. Either "a lot" or "only as a framing mechanism" are reasonable but the book constantly wavers back and forth between the two
skitch41's review
4.0
The Civil Rights Movement was one of the defining periods of post-war history. It brought to an end segregation in a number of different areas of national life, such as public accommodations and voting. But with the gains of the era under threat by recent Supreme Court decisions, I felt it was time to take a closer look at this seminal period in American history. And if you are looking for a comprehensive history of the Movement, you can do no better than this three-volume history, of which this is the first volume.
Covering the first nine years of the period, Mr. Branch leads this tour de force from the Birmingham Bus Boycotts to the the March on Washington. At the center of it all is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the indispensable man of the Movement. This book is a biography of Dr. King's life and work just as much as a history of the period. The attention to detail that Mr. Branch records is breathtaking. As you read through, you are engulfed in the times and trials of African-Americans and their leaders as they struggle to end decades of segregation throughout the South and beyond. As activists face new threats to democracy today, it is humbling to see how the Civil Rights era was not a smooth upward movement towards freedom. There were setbacks, poor decisions, and even a little soul-searching throughout, something that I think modern activists can relate today.
However, this books biggest strength, the attention to detail, can also be one of its biggest weaknesses. Of the three-volumes, this covers the longest period and is, thus, the longest books in the series. The length plus the tedious amount of detail can get rather laborious at times. Dr. King's struggles for leadership and influence over the National Baptist Convention was particularly boring and rather tangential to the history of the movement.
As the demand of citizenship today is greater activism, history books like this about movements of the past are ore important than ever. I highly recommend this book for people who interested in the history of the civil rights movement in particular and activism in general.
Covering the first nine years of the period, Mr. Branch leads this tour de force from the Birmingham Bus Boycotts to the the March on Washington. At the center of it all is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the indispensable man of the Movement. This book is a biography of Dr. King's life and work just as much as a history of the period. The attention to detail that Mr. Branch records is breathtaking. As you read through, you are engulfed in the times and trials of African-Americans and their leaders as they struggle to end decades of segregation throughout the South and beyond. As activists face new threats to democracy today, it is humbling to see how the Civil Rights era was not a smooth upward movement towards freedom. There were setbacks, poor decisions, and even a little soul-searching throughout, something that I think modern activists can relate today.
However, this books biggest strength, the attention to detail, can also be one of its biggest weaknesses. Of the three-volumes, this covers the longest period and is, thus, the longest books in the series. The length plus the tedious amount of detail can get rather laborious at times. Dr. King's struggles for leadership and influence over the National Baptist Convention was particularly boring and rather tangential to the history of the movement.
As the demand of citizenship today is greater activism, history books like this about movements of the past are ore important than ever. I highly recommend this book for people who interested in the history of the civil rights movement in particular and activism in general.
emmastia's review
3.0
A great overview on the civil rights movement. Perhaps my expectations were too high for this one. I did not love it the way I thought I would and was not as captivated by the events, perhaps because I already knew bits and pieces. It still makes me want to read the rest of the trilogy. And perhaps it suffers because I read the wonderful [b:The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration|8171378|The Warmth of Other Suns The Epic Story of America's Great Migration|Isabel Wilkerson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1276890246s/8171378.jpg|13341052] earlier this year which tells the civil rights story in a much different way.
cisko's review
5.0
Wonderfully written, with a sense of context and an effortless ability to tease out threads among disconnected events. Centered on King but not exclusively about him; the book strikes a fine balance between showing him as a flawed human and demonstrations his greatness - and its cost. Highly recommended.
janey's review
5.0
Despite being well aware of Taylor Branch's definitive histories, the length of his books had always put me off. I needn't have worried, as it turns out that he is able to keep the narrative fresh and interesting to the last page. I do think I'm going to take a short break before beginning the second book of the trilogy, though.
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