On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr., electrified the nation when he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. In The Dream, Drew D. Hansen explores the fascinating and little-known history of King's legendary address. The Dream insightfully considers how King's speech "has slowly remade the American imagination," and led us closer to King's visionary goal of a redeemed America.

This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the 1963 march on Washington and King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech, which thrust King into the national spotlight, provided a barometer of the national conscience, and reflected on both our past transgressions and future moral objectives. Hansen examines King's speech on numerous levels and in many contexts, revealing the confluence of forces that account for its unprecedented impact. He explores King's theological and intellectual focus and his roots in the tradition of black Baptist sermons. Hansen uses King's speech to examine the competing elements of an American society divided along North-South, black-white lines and to explore the contradictions of such interests along a moral continuum. King's speech provided a common code of moral respect, but not consensus of action, as diverse elements agreed to its greatness or purpose but not its call to act. Readers interested in the moral issues tied to the civil rights struggle will enjoy Hansen's analysis.

　　　　　　　　　　Vernon Ford

Height (mm) 209 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Width (mm) 140