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Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63
by Taylor Branch
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Simon and Schuster (1988-11-15)
ISBN: 0671460978
EAN: 9780671460976
Dewy Decimal #: 973.0496073
Hardcover: 1088 pages
Edition: 1st
SKU: 23226
Condition: Collectable Like New
Comments: Schuster, 1988. THE UNABRIDGED EDITION. WITH GREAT PHOTOGRAPHS! BOMC. HARDCOVER WITH GILT LETTERING, DUST COVER and pages are in MINT CONDITION, clean and tight. Rapid shipping w/FREE tracking, AIR MAIL.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
The Pulitzer Prize-winning first installment of the outstanding civil rights-era series comes to audio! Epic in scope and impact, this audiobook is hailed as the most masterful story ever told of the American civil rights movement. Moving from the fiery political baptism of Martin Luther King, Jr., to the corridors of Camelot where the Kennedy brothers weighed demands of justice against the deceptions of J. Edgar Hoover, here is the vivid tapestry of America, torn and finally transformed by a revolutionary struggle unequaled since the Civil War. 4 cassettes. .
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Amazon.com Review
An award-winning biography of Martin Luther King Jr., a history of the civil rights movement, and a portrait of an era, Taylor Branch's Parting the Waters begins slowly but soon catches the listener in a tumult of unforgettable events. Branch's thorough research has been synthesized into an impressive account of the violence, courage, and confusion at the beginning of the civil rights movement, building to a powerful conclusion with a blow-by-blow retelling of the events in Birmingham, Alabama. Ably narrated by Joe Morton and C.C.H. Pounder, the audio abridgment is occasionally choppy, but well-done considering the print edition runs about 900 pages. The broad cast of characters includes Baptist preachers and student movement leaders as well as President John F. Kennedy and his cabinet. If you are daunted by the sheer mass of the print edition of Parting the Waters, this abridged production is for you. However don't be surprised if you find yourself wanting more and digging into the print version after all or perhaps the audio version of Pillar of Fire, Taylor's second book in his projected three-part series. (Running time: 6 Hours; 4 cassettes)
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Customer Reviews
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Undiscovered Country
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-06-22
This book is even better than the glowing reviews suggested. It's simply a masterpiece of intelligent writing. The author respects the reader's intelligence, and has an amazing ability to mix detail and the big picture. I love the way the author combines a highly readable style with both arresting action, minute detail, and yet keeps his balance. He is able to get you excited about the events in Albany, GA as though they are happening now, then backs off to show how the whole campaign kind of died. He has remarkable energy and writing talent, and a wonderful ability to shift gears, weave threads together.
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Amazingly Woven Detail
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-04-03
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
As you begin to read chapter one, this book will become a page-turner. The amazingly woven detail gives life to this story of over fifty years ago. Author Taylor Branch documents how M. L. King, Jr. walked into the storm of what was to become the Civil Rights Movement, and was then sucked into its vortex. As a "boomer" I was alive during parts of this, growing up in the Midwest. I remember some headlines and TV scenes, but reading the minutiae of what was behind those headlines was like unto discovering a mother's diary. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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Indispensable
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-08-01
The best single book on the civil rights movement I have ever read. Parting the Waters is partly a wonderful, complicated biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. However, it is also a history of the early years of the entire civil rights movement. King, SCLC, and SNCC are described in great detail and their efforts are set against a background of federal reluctance to intervene in the South. Inspiring and detailed.
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Excellent and Informative
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-05-11
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
I am about halfway through this book. Even though I have not finished yet I feel compelled to comment on it. I believe it is extremely important for African Americans of my generation to get a more complete understanding of the civil rights movement. So far this book has opening my eyes and changed the way I view our African American experience.
What is best about this read is it flows like a history book. I give much credit to Mr. Branch for simply telling the story and not adding too much of his own commentary and opinion. That is one of my pet peeves with many of our `writers' today. They want to impose their opinions and biased interpretations. We do not need opinions. We need to educate ourselves with facts and draw our own conclusions. Okay, I will get off the soapbox.
Anyway I highly recommend this book. It is a very long read, but if you seek a deeper understanding of the African American experience this is a great start. Many of the issues we face today can be interpreted more accurately by getting a more complete account of our past.
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Moving storytelling
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-03-18
By most accounts, Branch's three volume history of the Civil Rights Movement is the authoritative account of Dr. King's life. But beyond the facts and history, this particular volume is an example of masterful storytelling. I read this book during my morning and evening commutes, stuffed between strangers on the train. Branch transported me to another time and place, at times on the brink of tears. Branch devoted decades of his life to crafting this story. His efforts leave us with an honest and beautifully told story - one of our nation's most inspiring and tragic.
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