Now available in paperback, one of the best short books we have on the ideas of racial equality (George Bornstein, "Times Literary Supplement")In this assessment of Martin Luther King, Jr. s famous 1963 speech, Eric J. Sundquist explores its origins, its place in the long history of American debates about equality and race, and why it is now hailed as the most powerful American address of the twentieth century. The speech and all that surrounds itbackground and consequencesare brought magnificently to life. . . . Sundquist has written about race and ethnicity in American culture. In this book...

Each year, more than two million visitors line up near Philadelphia's Independence Hall and wait to gaze upon a flawed mass of metal forged more than two and a half centuries ago. Since its original casting in England in 1751, the Liberty Bell has survived a precarious journey on the road to becoming a symbol of the American identity, and in this masterful work, Gary B. Nash reveals how and why this voiceless bell continues to speak such volumes about our nation. Drawing upon fascinating primary source documents, Nash's book continues a remarkable dialogue about a symbol of American...