Letter from Birmingham Jail (Penguin Modern)

Historical document that everyone should read and give to their children to read.

It’s thought provoking and allows you to see just how Mr. King was feeling during his incarceration. Every thought challenging question he posed to those so called God fearing men shed light on how racism was and still is prevalent in some places. I really enjoyed this book immensely.

As a 75 year old African American who lived through these terrible times, this book is a bit of reality that touches upon the heart and soul of every person of color.

One of my all time favorites. I recommend that this be a read for everyone. King's words resonate with such power and yet humility is amplified throughout this small pocket edition. The pain and struggles of the Civil Rights Movement are a piece of history not to be ignored.

Transported to the 60’s! This is an immersive read! Such unrest unfair treatment of black folk! Horrendous times that needed to change. Not much different today.

Written by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., this the definitive example of persuasive writing. His alliterative phrasing and his reasoning should be taught and discussed in every classroom on college campuses. He was being cautioned ny a group of his peers to not be so bold in the fight for Justice. He argued: Why wait? The argument reverberates as loudly now as it did in the 1960s.

The books type was too very, very small. Reading the book was like taking an eye exam. I wanted to replace the book my dad bought when I was a child. I plan to go the King Center in Atlanta and find a better copy.

I am unclear why this is not required reading in every school and church in the country. It is a persuasive and compassionate masterpiece that seeks justice and equality while always radiating love.

Il libro consiste in due parti la prima è una lettera scritta da Martin Luther King e la seconda parte e la trascrizione di un discorso che aveva fatto. Bella lettura, si finisce tranquillamente in un paio d'ore.

Racism is ignorance and fear, plain and simple, and often willful in its execution when to be otherwise means a person having to admit being deluded or cruel. Martin Luther King, quite concisely and eloquently here, shows the consequences for people from varying realms of society, of perpetuating and acting upon such embedded cultural falsehoods; and in some ways it's increasingly hard to believe, nearly sixty years later, that we've moved only this far on. It's quite sad in fact, that the presumably intelligent human beings who yet harbour such idiocies, cannot seem to get past this point in their lives. But then perhaps that's because many of them are so frightened of the world they think they're seeing, that they end up actually preferring their lies to a truth that could make them free. This book is short, but as a prisoner MLK had little time, and as a naturally powerful orator he knew exactly how much was needed to get his point across, which he does brilliantly in both compositions. He just knows what people need to be hearing if they're ever going to live happier lives - black, white, or whatever. He knows prejudice might sometimes have complex beginnings, but that by the time its a social phenomenon the threads have been woven in the same predictable pattern as all the other human delusions, meaning progress grinding slowly in the face of others self-interest, and ignorance continuing to reign where the will to be better educated is absent. It makes me sad to think we've only come this far, but the fact of King's voice echoing down the decades, despite all attempts to silence it, makes me smile at the same time!

L'ouvrage nous propose deux textes. Le premier est une lettre que Luther King a écrite en prison pour répondre à des accusations et le second est l'un de ses sermons, sur le sens de la vie..." Je n'avais jamais lu les mots de Martin Luther King et je suis soufflée par tant de justesse, d'érudition et de sérénité, même pour parler des sujets les plus graves, des souffrances les plus profondes. C'est percutant sans jamais être agressif. Je suis admirative du talent de cet homme, honnête et droit, et je comprends à quel point il a pu faire peur. Je conseille cet ouvrage les yeux fermés à absolument tout le monde. Les deux textes sont très différents, et servent un propos différent, et je pense que ceux qui sont hermétiques à la religion auront sûrement des réticences à lire le second et pourtant, il est si beau et exprime si bien le sens de la vie, que vous auriez tort de vous en priver, quoi que vous pensiez de Dieu ou de son existence... C'est un beau coup de coeur qui me donne envie d'en découvrir beaucoup plus sur cette collection mais aussi bien sûr sur Martin Luther King, Jr et sa cause.

A mandatory must read exploring what is legal and just vs legal and unjust.

The Penguin Modern Edition of Letter from Birmingham Jail consists of 2 parts - The first is an open letter written in April 1963, by Martin Luther King Jr, in response to the criticisms made by 8 White Alabama clergymen, who argued that the battle against racial segregation should be fought in the courts and not on the streets. . The letter defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism and gives a befitting response to him being referred to as an “outsider”. It became an important text for the American Civil Rights Movement and was widely published. . The second titled The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life, looks like a fragment of his recorded speech and gives a more philosophical and religious take on life, it’s dimensions, god and self love. . Both the essays are very rich and powerful and written with the idea to bring a much needed change. . I was impressed to read the first letter, in which he voices his opinions with such patience and calm and urges why people should be angry but not violent. It’s a really important piece throwing light on the injustices that we have only read about, but are much more worse. . I did not quite resonate with the second part and about the dimensions of a complete life. It felt a little vague in terms of the flow of the writing and the topics. . So I’d give this : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5