Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Called to Serve January 1929-June 1951, vol. 1.

This first volume of the papers of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. begins with a 1937 Father's Day greeting authored by eight year old martin and Wille C. King and Alfred Daniel Williams King. The volume concludes with a June 4, 1951 letter sent to Boston University from Charles Batten, the Dean of Crozer Theological Seminary, certifying that King had officially received his Bachelor of Divinity degree May 8, 1951. In between are documents that cover King's childhood, his Morehouse College days and his Crozer Seminary years. These documents include correspondence by and to King, college papers, examination answers, evaluations of his work, legal documents, and book reviews authored by King.

This initial volume begins with a lengthy introduction, a chronology, and a discussion of the editorial principles and practices. The volume concludes with a Calendar of Documents and a through index. The Calendar of Documents is especially helpful as it lists not only the King materials selected for the volume, but also works by King not included. For each entry in the Calendar, the following information is provided: date, author (material related to King is included as well), author affiliation, document title, place of origin, physical description, notes, archival location, and identification number. This data should be invaluable to future researchers.

The first ninety pages comprise the introduction which traces King's genealogy and his history through the completion of his seminary training. Featured here are reprints of important photographs. King's intellectual development is also highlighted here. A brief discussion regarding his unacknowledged use of sources in some of his writing appears together with a helpful footnote directing the reader to a source that further explores the issue.

When completed, the series will be the natural starting point for King researchers. If further volumes are as well edited and documented as this first one, access to documents revealing King's philosophy and strategies for social change will be made easier. The series will be indispensable and should become a permanent fixture in academic, public, and private libraries.