Newspaper Page Text
January 31, 1985/The Maroon Tiger/Page 19
Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Making Of A Mind
“Because of its outstanding
quality I have selected this book
as required reading in my course
on the life and thought of Martin
Luther King, Jr. This book is
destined to establish the stan
dard for all future research
concerning the intellectual
development of Dr. King.
Professor Ansbro has anchored
himself among the un
questioned authorities on the
theistic personalistic idealism
undergirding the fundamental
philosophical and theological
superstructure behind the civil
and human rights struggle led by
Dr. King. As the first professional
philosopher to analyze the
strategies and tactics of Dr.
King's philosophy of nonviolent
resistance and to critique nearly
one hundred of his critics, he
reveals the comprehensive inter
nal consistency of King’s thought
and the grand vision of this
twentieth-century ecumenical
prophet. The entire book cor
rects many serious misinter
pretations advanced by single
perspective scholars and gives a
more varied and in-depth
analysis than those provided by
previous critics. This clearly
written treatise will undoubtedly
become the official study
documenting and appraising
King’s thinking. Its publication
will determine the rise and fall of
many who give careful attention
to its content.’’
Rev. Lawrence E. Carter,
Dean of the Chapel,
Morehouse College
“Characterized by insight and
commendable fullness, this
book is a very important con
tribution to our understanding
of King and of the nature of the
movement he founded.
Professor Ansbro has made a
careful study of King’s books, his
doctoral dissertation, un
published sermons, and
graduate term papers, has inter
viewed King’s teachers,
associates and other King
scholars, and has read the range
of commentary and/or criticism
of King by Americans of every
variety: white, black; legalistic,
moral; reactionary, progressive.
King’s theory of nonviolence, his
civil rights actions, his Vietnam
stance, his commitment to the
amelioration of poverty all
emerge at a level of grandeur far
beyond that perceived by most
observers of his work. This book,
more than any other King study,
shows his uniqueness in the
history of the twentieth cen
tury.”
Richard A. Long,
Director of
Afro-American Studies,
Atlanta University
“Martin Luther King, Jr.: The
Making of a Mind is a magnifi
cent achievement in presenting
and interpreting America’s
greatest exponent of the
philosophy and practice of
creative dissent in the form of
nonviolence. Thoroughly
researched, technically compe
tent, brilliantly analyzed,
Professor Ansbro has produced
the definitive account of the
making and development of
King’s Personalism and the
ethical elements in his religious
philosophy. The major contem
porary criticisms of King's
leadership are noted and com
pared with his normative stand
point. Ansbro’s presentation of
both the sources of King’s Per
sonalism and nonviolence, on
the one hand, and the systematic
coherence of his thought and
strategy, on the other, make this
work a major contribution to its
field. Because of its format and
systematic treatment the book
lends itself to classroom use, to
research, as well as to the in
terests of the general reader.
Walter C. Muelder,
Dean Emeritus,
Boston University
School of Theology
“John Ansbro has traced the
roots and the development of
the inner man — King — and his
quest for truth and his experi
ment in the conquest of
violence. This is a unique con
tribution....
“As one who spent many
hours in discussion of ideas,
philosophy, speeches, and day-
to-day planning with King, I
discover in Ansbro’s book much
for which I am grateful. For those
who wish to know the inner King
and the concepts that underlay
his commitment to nonviolence,
human rights and peace, this
book is a must.”
Bayard Rustin, President,
A. Philip Randolph Educational
Fund
"This work is an excellent
comprehensive analysis of the
sources and criticisms of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s
philosophy of nonviolent
resistance."
Julian Bond,
Georgia State Senator
"Professor Ansbro has written
a first-rate guide that is a 'must'
for future scholars interested in
the intellectual and spiritual
formation of Martin Luther
King."
Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr.,
Senior Minister,
The Riverside Church,
Slew York City
“This book is an important
exposition of the thought of
Martin Luther King, Jr. It is
comprehensive, well
documented, and clearly
written. It provides a fascinating
account of the quite varied
influences that formed King’s
mind. The subject is illumined by
presentations of the contrasts
between King and other civil
rights leaders. I am impressed in
a new way by the intellectual
substance and the inner con
sistency of the systematic
thought on which his great
prophetic leadership was bas
ed."
John C. Bennett,
President Emeritus,
Union Theological Seminary
“Martin Luther King, Jr.: The
Mking of a Mind is a truly
remarkable study of the
development of Dr. King’s belief
in the theory of nonviolent
struggle for social change and his
practical use of nonviolent ac
tion in the quest for social
justice.
“The careful, balanced, the
thoroughly documented analysis
of the major influences in the
intellectual maturation of Dr.
King’s faith provides a valuable
survey of the history and
Philosophy of nonviolence in the
exciting context of ideas being
tested in tension. The reader,
conditioned by the noble
simplicity of the marches, songs,
and sermons repeated in the
popular portrayals of the man, is
powerfully reminded that Mar
tin Luther King, Jr., was a deeply
learned and sophisticated
scholar who, as a man of action,
made choices in consultation
with the recorded wisdom of the
past and the learned counsel of
the present.”
Ramsey Clark, former Attorney
General
of the United States
“The Making of a Mind comes
closest to being the definitive
work on King as philosopher and
thologian.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Ansbro’s study is essential for
anyone seeking to understand
the sources and resources the
intellectually eclectic King
brought to the social upheavals
of the 1960s."
United Press International
"Biographies often resemble
scavenger hunts, but seldom end
by providing a full picture of
their subject. John Ansbro cor
rects that mistake with Martin
Luther King, Jr.: The Making of a
Mind.”
America
“One of the greatest services
done Dr. King has been per
formed by John J. Ansbro in his
painstakingly thorough answer
to Martin’s critics in his new
book... King appears to be
intellectually and spiritually
more mature than his critics,
while Ansbro has projected
himself as the foremost Kingian
scholar in print. He even in
dicates in a few places how King
might have strengthened his
case."
The National Baptist Voice
"...We find the work to be
especially intriguing in helping
those who followed Dr. King’s
work to understand better his
thought processes and the
sources for his many ideas and
social commitments.”
The National Leader
“Ansbro has given us a careful
ly considered, clearly written,
and systematic analysis of King’s
thought.... He has done us all a
service with this research and
writing. Because of this addition
to King studies we shall all honor
King on his birthday with greater
appreciation for his passion for
socil justice."
The Journal of Southern History
“This is a remarkable study of
the development of Dr. King's
belief in the theory of nonviolent
struggle for social change and his
practical use of nonviolent ac
tion in the quest for social
justice.”
Sojourners
“What an extraordinary piece
of scholarship is here!”
Transnational Perspectives
“ 'To understand the nature of
King’s challenge to American
society requires a comprehen
sive and systematic examination
of his strategy of nonviolence.’
The author states and fulfills that
requirement in this detailed
study.... Ansbro has thoroughly
researched his subject and
documents his argument exten
sively.”
Quaker Life
“This reviewer felt moved, at
times awed, excited, inspired,
but also depressed and sadden
ed that the world lost a man of
such beauty.”
Best Sellers
“Of the numerous books
written on Martin Luther King,
Jr., John Ansbro’s work will join
the few enduring ones....Highly
recommended to advanced un
dergraduates, graduate students,
and specialists interested in the
philosophy of nonviolence,
ethics, the civil rights movement,
and the role of churches in social
change.”
(Selected for list of "Outstanding
Academic Books of 1983”)
Choice
“Ansbro’s book is an odyssey
of ideas....It is very rewarding to
follow him for the hidden gold
he has uncovered....There are
breathtaking passages which
raise high the hopes of the
reader that the seemingly im
possible dreams of oppressed
peoples everywhere for justice
and fair play are going to be
realized and that this can be
done without violence.
Philosophical Studies (Ireland)
"Like the Porsche 928 sports
car, there is nothing else in its
class and ‘nothing even comes
close.’ Unlike many other studies
of King which are long on
personal biography but shorfon
illuminating explanations of his
thought, Ansbro has provided us
with a philosopher's understan
ding of most of the intellectual
influences and ideas that formed
this extraordinary philosophical
theologian-activist.”
The Christian Century
"Ansbro’s excellent study is an
invaluable contribution as in
tellectual biography, as social
history, as theological education,
but chiefly it is a systematic study
of moral philosophy....It is
probably the best single book
that convincingly demonstrates
that moral philosophy done on a
theological basis is a potent
reality in twentieth century life.”
The New Scholasticism
“John Ansbro has provided an
invaluable resource in his well-
researched and thoughtfully
synthesized volume."
Christianity and Crisis
JOHN J. ANSBRO received his
B.A. at St. Joseph’s Seminary, and
M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy at
Fordham University. He is
Professor of Philosophy at
Manhattan College and taught
Dr. King’s philosophy of non
violence also at Fordham Univer
sity's Graduate School. Having
received a Travel and Study
Grant from the Ford Foundation,
he studied Dr. King’s papers in
the King Collection at the Mugar
Memorial Library of Boston
University and source material at
the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Center for Nonviolent Social
Change. He interviewed Dr.
King’s professors at Morehouse
College, Crozer Theological
Seminary, and Boston University,
and his colleagues in the
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
ORBIS BOOKS
' Maryknoll, New York 10545
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.:
THE MAKING OF A MIND
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