I have spent a decade researching and developing this book and two years writing it. During that journey and before, many people have helped me in many ways, some perhaps unknowingly. I want to express heartfelt appreciation to my intellectual mentors: Robert McAfee Brown, John H. Schaar, Dick Flacks, Marge Frantz, James MacGregor Burns, and (though we haven’t met) Garry Wills, whose writing has inspired me for thirty years. David Garrow, dean of civil rights historians, reviewed the manuscript carefully and was generous as usual with advice and suggestions. I have benefited from groundbreaking research by Clay Carson and the staff of the King Papers Project at Stanford University, where I served as associate editor. I have benefited also from Mills Thornton’s expertise on the Montgomery bus boycott. Writer and editor Suzanne Lipsett, who died of breast cancer, steered me toward writing a deeper biography of King. Janet Keep, Deborah Schneer, Ann Manheimer, Randy Schutt, and Tamara Watts gave me cogent criticisms of the manuscript. Randy and Tamara have been my cherished colleagues for many years. Any errors or misinterpretations in the book are my own.
Helen Schrader’s guidance and support have nourished my soul. Ira Sandperl, Arnold Sternberg, Lee Beckom, Jamie Godfrey, Rabbi Margaret Holub, Rev. Dr. Karen Lebacqz, and Jane Benson have helped me in important ways. The fellowship of Evergreen United Methodist Church in Fort Bragg, Calif., has sustained my heart.
I thank the staffs of Stanford’s Green Library, Williams College Library, and Fort Bragg Public Library, as well as the resourceful staff of Gallery Bookshop and Ian Mayeno of Zo Office Supply, both stores in Mendocino, Calif. David Russell creatively designed my Web site.
I am grateful to my agents, Peter Sawyer and Fifi Oscard in New York, for their confidence in my work and for making arrangements with my fine publisher. My editors and others at HarperSanFrancisco have done a remarkable job preparing the manuscript for publication. Executive editor John Loudon’s support has been a Godsend. His skillful assistant, Kris Ashley, performed editorial miracles of all kinds. Managing editor Terri Leonard has been both efficient and patient. I want to thank associate publisher Mark Tauber for his support, as well as marketing director Margery Buchanan, copy editor Carl Walesa, indexer Charlee Trantino, and proofreader Carol Lastrucci. HarperCollins attorney Mark Jackson expertly handled legal issues.
I am grateful for the loving support and creative guidance of Deborah Schneer, who has been my anchor and beacon during this voyage. Her writing wisdom and editing expertise made vital contributions to the book. Janet Thompson Keep, my mother, has been my intellectual and spiritual companion through the years of preparing this work. She has helped deepen my understanding of the Bible, has offered valuable insights on many subjects, and has given me steadfast support when I most needed it.