America in the King Years

Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954–63
AuthorTaylor Branch
LanguageEnglish
SeriesAmerica in the King Years
SubjectMartin Luther King Jr.,
Civil Rights Movement
GenreBiography
PublisherSimon & Schuster
Publication date
1988 (1988)
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint
Pages1,088
ISBN0-671-46097-8
OCLC18383661
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963–65
Publication date
1998 (1998)
Pages768
ISBN0-684-80819-6
OCLC37909869
At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965–1968
Publication date
2006 (2006)
Pages1,056
ISBN0-684-85712-X
OCLC62118415

America in the King Years is a three-volume history of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement by Taylor Branch, which he wrote between 1982 and 2006.[1][2] The three individual volumes have won a variety of awards, including the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for History.[3]

The titles of the three volumes, Parting the Waters, Pillar of Fire, and At Canaan's Edge, were all drawn from aspects of the Old Testament Book of Exodus[4] – namely, the Crossing of the Red Sea, the manifestation of God that allowed the Israelites to travel by night, and the Promised Land, which Moses was able to see into, but did not live long enough to enter.

A one-volume summary of the series was published in 2013.

  1. ^ "King Era Trilogy". taylorbranch.com. 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  2. ^ "2008 Lifetime Achievement Award". Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  3. ^ "History". The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  4. ^ "C-SPAN Booknotes – Taylor Branch: Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years 1963-65". booknotes.org. 12 April 1998. Retrieved 1 February 2012.