The Speech

this was a fantastic little book! basically it has three parts. the first part is a retelling of the events right before and during the march culminating in king delivering his i have a dream speech. this part reads like your best friend recounting all the travails inherent in putting something so h......more

The activists; the historical period; the march on Washington; the debates and disagreements; the political establishment; the meaning of the speech - it's all here. Excellent.......more

3.49 stars. It turns out I knew much less than I thought I did about Dr. King's most famous speech. Gary Younge opens the book with the full text of the speech and in the following chapters presents the recent history leading up to the speech, the key individuals of the period, the stories from the da......more

I liked the historical context and details around the planning of the march. And the dissection of each passage of the speech was enlightening. It was less compelling towards the end when it compared Obama's era with then. But I'd recommend it - it's not a huge time commitment.......more

This book goes into detail why this speech out of all his other speeches was the one to become synonymous with him. I knew a little bit about the history behind it but it was interesting to read about it more in depth and to understand why this one is the one he's most noted for.......more