Today the nation honors the life of Martin Luther King Jr., the
reverend and activist who led the American civil rights
movement. As King studied nonviolence as practiced by Gandhi and
imagined by Henry David Thoreau, now his own life and work are
the subject of study. Here are 12 essential reads about the
short life of King, who was assassinated in 1968 at age 39. "The
King Years: Historic Moments in the Civil Rights Movement"
(2013), "Parting the Waters: America in the King Years, 1954-63"
(1986), "Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963-1965"
(1998), and "At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years,
1965-68" (2006), all by Taylor Branch. Branch's latest book on
King, published last month, is a condensed, highlight-heavy
sampling of his award-winning trilogy about King. The first
book, "Parting the Waters," was a winner of the Pulitzer Prize
for history in 1987, and the two following books were also
highly praised. Totaling almost 3,000 pages, Branch's exhaustive
trilogy provides a deep look into Ki