Edgar Hoover
Hellhound on His Trail peter trower
It’s bold to start an account of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. without a single mention of James Earl Ray. But in Hellhound on His Trail, Ray’s absence is essential–in his place, Hampton Sides traces the alter egos Ray created after escaping from prison and beginning his haphazard journey toward Memphis. Sides meticulously constructs parallel portraits of two very different men–one, the larger-than-life figurehead of the Civil Rights movement; the other, a nondescript loner with a spurious and violent history, whose identity was as fluid as his motives. The narrative builds to the staggering and heartbreaking moment of King’s assassination, then races on through the immediate fallout: the worldwide manhunt led by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI; Ray’s nearly successful attempt to flee to Rhodesia; and the riots that erupted throughout the United States as racial tensions reached a breaking point. Sides’s storytelling packs a visceral punch, and in Hellhound on His Trail, he crafts an authoritative and riveting account of two intersecting lives that altered the course of American history.Grab A Copy Click here
Hampton Sides has long been one of the great narrative nonfiction writers of our time, excavating essential pieces of American history–from the daring rescue of POWs during World War II to the settling of the West–and bringing them vividly to life. Now in his new book, Hellhound on His Trail, he applies his enormous gifts to one of the most important and heart-wrenching chapters in U.S. history: the stalking and assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., by James Earl Ray.
The book chronicles the terrifying collision of these two figures. In 1967, King was struggling to complete his monumental Civil Rights crusade and to maintain, amid the rise of more militant factions, the movement’s nonviolent nobility. While King increasingly intuits his own death, Ray has begun to track him down. Through Sides’ prodigious research, Ray emerges as one of the eeriest characters, a prison escapee and racist who wears alligator shoes and is constantly transforming himself, changing names and physical appearances. He is determined to become somebody, to insert himself into the national consciousness, through a single unthinkable act of violence.Grab A Copy Click here
Sides illuminates not only the forces that culminated in King’s assassination; he also reveals the largely forgotten story of how his death led to the largest manhunt in American history. Almost unfathomably, it is J. Edgar Hoover, the person who had long hoped for King’s destruction and had even spied on him, who ultimately brings King’s killer to justice.
Hellhound on His Trail reconstructs this taut, tense narrative with the immediacy of a novel. Yet what makes the book so powerful–indeed what lifts it into the ranks of a masterpiece–is that the story unfolds against the larger backdrop of the Civil Rights movement and the struggle to remake the country. If Ray is able to undergo a final metamorphosis, it is King, through his life and ultimate sacrifice, who enacts the greatest transformation: changing the character of a nation.
About the Author
J. Edgar Hoover bio
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The Source [VHS] $19.98 This documentary is a treat, a look at the beat writers that benefits not only from a wealth of vital source information, including interviews with major figures, but also from an abundance of intelligence and wit. Interspersed with clips of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady, and William S. Burroughs are brilliant montages of clips that set the beats in the context of their times. The … |
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Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (Amazon.com Exclusive) [VHS] $7.99 The story of the late J. Edgar Hoover, who was head of the FBI from 1924-1972. The film follows Hoover from his racket busting days through his reign under eight U.S. presidents…. |
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J. Edgar $3.99 … |
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J. Edgar (+ UltraViolet Digital Copy) $8.99 Directed by Clint Eastwood, this compelling biopic stars Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover–the director of the F.B.I. for nearly 50 years. Both feared and admired by colleagues and contemporaries, he remained dedicated to his job while dealing with his secrets and his relationships with his overprotective mother (Judi Dench) and protege Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer). With Naomi Watts, Josh Hamil… |
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