Hellhound on His Trail, by Hampton Sides

As the subtitle of Hampton Sides's book Hellhound on His Trail: The Electrifying Account of the Largest Manhunt in American History indicates, the hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassin was, in fact, the largest manhunt in American history.  When James Earl Ray shot MLK, the shock waves reverberated around the world.  The memory is still fresh and raw in the minds and hearts of many Americans.

Sides tells the story of these two men's paths and destinies crossing on that fateful Memphis day.  Alternating between Ray's movements around the country as an escaped convict and King's movements around the country as a civil rights leader, Sides presents a thorough picture of race and culture in the 1960s.  Drawing on historical accounts and oral histories, Sides reconstructs the events in painstaking detail.

As gripping as the story is--and even though we know the outcome, it's pretty gripping--Sides does get bogged down in the details, while only tangentially examining the big picture.  We learn much about Ray's personal habits and personality quirks, but the question of motive is assumed and glossed over.  Sides mentions theories about Ray's being part of a larger conspiracy, but dismisses any inkling that Ray was just a guy who wanted to kill MLK.  For many, the thought that he had not one bit of financial or logistical support is simply outside the realm of possibility.  For Sides, it's ridiculous to imagine that Ray was anything other than a lone assassin. 

One thing remains unquestioned: King's death was tragic for the civil rights movement and our nation's history.  King's philosophy of nonviolence didn't die with him, but his death allowed many in the civil rights movement to move away from nonviolence.  On the bright side, King's death elevated and accelerated the concerns of the movement, perhaps leading to swifter acceptance of attitudes and policies King promoted. 

Sides doesn't whitewash King's lifestyle or legacy, but he clearly sees King as a tragic hero.  Similarly, he doesn't make Ray out to be an evil man, but a regular guy who pursued--and accomplished--a goal, and who was frankly shocked that his actions had such far-reaching repercussions.  Try as he might, even leaving the country and leaving the continent, Ray couldn't escape the consequences of his killing King.  With Sides, you will feel like you are with him every step of the way.