Martin Luther King Jr.: an Oral History of His Religious Witness and His Life.

By Russel Moldovan. (San Francisco and other cities: International Scholars Publications, 1999. Pp. xxii, 161. Paper, $54.95, ISBN 1-57309-3459); Reflections on Our Pastor: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, 1954-1960. Edited by Wally G. Vaughn and Richard W. Wills. (Dover, Mass.: The Majority Press, 1999. Pp. x, 163. Paper, $12.95, ISBN 0-912469-34-X.) These books examine the ministry of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through first-person accounts and enrich the scholarship on King by focusing on his function as a pastor and spiritual leader in a context not necessarily related to the civil rights movement. Russel Moldovan's book features excerpts of interviews that the author conducted with persons who knew Dr. King, with these transcripts accounting for more of the book's text than the author's own words, which are primarily summations and provide context. Themes that emerge are King's ability to apply seemingly obscure scriptures to relevant contemporary issues, his charisma, and the connection between his crusade for racial justice and his religious convictions. Reflections on Our Pastor also treats King's ministry, this time in the context of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where he preached for six years. The book is comprised of essays written by church members, several of whom were party to calling him as pastor in 1954. Most of the accounts focus on the early period of his tenure and depict the power of his sermons, the personal bonds he shared with the people, and his selection for a leadership role in advocating civil rights. While some essays romanticize his sermons and his role as a community leader, others paint a complex picture wherein church members and citizens weighed the costs of challenging Montgomery's racial mores and of dividing the city's black leadership. But overall these reflections portray King as overcoming such divisions, and virtually all of the accounts connect his spirituality and his desire for racial equality. Both books make appeals to the black community, at some points quite emotionally, to be more active in documenting the first-person perspective in the history of the civil rights movement. By demonstrating King's profound importance not only as a national leader but at the personal and pastoral level, these volumes succeed in adding to our understanding of his ministry. [MATTHEW T. PENNEY, Rice University]