The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr and the Speech that Inspired a Nation - Hardcover

Drew D. Hansen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060084766 ISBN 13: 9780060084769

Publisher: Ecco, 2003

Synopsis

A riveting account of the origins and legacy of "I Have a Dream"

Forty years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. electrified the nation when he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. King's prophetic utterances started the long overdue process of changing America's idea of itself. His words would enter the American lexicon, galvanizing the civil rights movement, becoming a touchstone for all that the country might someday achieve.

The Dream is the first book about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legendary "I Have a Dream" speech. Opening with an enthralling account of the August day in 1963 that saw 250,000 Americans converge at the March on Washington, The Dream delves into the fascinating and little-known history of King's speech. Hansen explores King's compositional strategies and techniques, and proceeds to a brilliant analysis of the "I Have a Dream" speech itself, examining it on various levels: as a political treatise, a work of poetry, and as a masterfully delivered and improvised sermon bursting with biblical language and imagery.

In tracing the legacy of "I Have a Dream" since 1963, The Dream insightfully considers how King's incomparable speech "has slowly remade the American imagination," and led us closer to King's visionary goal of a redeemed America.

About this title

About the Author:

Drew Hansen is a lawyer and legislator who serves in the Washington State House of Representatives.  He practices law in Seattle and lives on Bainbridge Island with his family.

Review:

"[A] great contribution to the literature of the movement. Dr. King would be very, very proud." Rep. John Lewis, NPR

"The best book in more than a decade on the movement's best-known leader." David Garrow, Chicago Tribune

"Essential reading for anyone trying to understand one of the great speeches in American history." Denver Post

"Unleashes the power of King's historic words in '63 . . . offers a new perspective on what King said that day, how he said it and what it has come to mean." USA TODAY

"Having seen King deliver his great oration at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, my expectations for Drew D. Hansen's study were high, but they were fulfilled. The Dream is an important addition to the vast literature regarding King's life and thought. It accomplishes the remarkable feat of illuminating the deep historical, biographical, and intellectual roots of King's 'I Have A Dream' speech, while also illuminating the reasons for its lasting impact." Dr. Clayborne Carson, Director, Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project, Stanford University

"Here is an important moment in America's life given much deserved and worthy attention--here, too, is a book that students of literature and history will want to read carefully:a great person's words become a crucial turning point in a nation's destiny." Dr. Robert Coles

About this edition

• Publisher: Ecco
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0060084766
• ISBN 13: 9780060084769
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304