I finished reading Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65 some time ago but never got around to writing about it. Taylor Branch continues the mammoth project of writing about Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement in this second book of the series. I wrote about the first book, Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63 earlier and Taylor Branch is still working on the third book “At Canaan’s Edge.”
Pillar of Fire covers the years 1963-65 which were the height of the Civil Rights movement. It starts around the Birmingham protests. The Mississippi Freedom Summer is covered in extreme detail. I think that is the best part of the book. Taylor Branch describes the horrors of segregation very eloquently, but he does not shy away from the disputes and shortcomings of the civil rights leaders.
I recommend the trilogy very highly for anyone interested in the Civil Rights Era.
One stumbling block I found in Pillar of Fire, which was not present in Parting the Waters, was the large number of leaders, movements and events it covers. From Malcolm X, SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), Friends of SNCC to SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) and Martin Luther King, it covers a broad range of events and leaders. Since I read the book in small sections over a long period of time, it made my task of keeping track and making sense of the overall situation a bit difficult. I would suggest that you read this voluminous book (768 pages) as quickly as you can.
I’m reading Parting the Warters and it’s great. I lose sleep cause I can’t put it down.
At Canaan’s Edge : America in the King Years, 1965-68
This is the last book on the trilogy about Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement by Taylor Branch. The whole trilogy is a must-read.