John Lewis: A Life
Pulitzer Prize Finalist

New York Times Book Review Top 100 Books of 2024

Explore the “comprehensive and compelling” (Jon Meacham) biography of civil rights leader John Lewis, celebrated as “the conscience of Congress,” through a narrative that weaves together exclusive interviews, never-before-seen FBI files, and documents, offering profound insights into his significant role in American history and the civil rights movement.

Born into poverty in rural Alabama, John Lewis rose to prominence in the civil rights movement, becoming second only to Martin Luther King, Jr. in his contributions. As a Freedom Rider, he played a crucial role in integrating bus stations across the South. Lewis was a prominent leader in the Nashville sit-in movement and delivered a historic speech at the 1963 March on Washington. As the youngest speaker and chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), he transformed it into a major civil rights organization. His legacy endures through the harrowing events at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where he survived a brutal beating on “Bloody Sunday.”

David Greenberg's “authoritative...definitive biography” (David J. Garrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning author) follows Lewis's journey beyond the civil rights era, highlighting his leadership in the Voter Education Project, where he helped enroll millions of African American voters across the South. This book uncovers the little-known story of his ascent in politics, first locally in Atlanta and then as a respected member of Congress. As part of the Democratic leadership, Lewis was admired on both sides of the aisle for his unwavering dedication to nonviolent integration and justice.

Rich with new insights, Greenberg's work captures John Lewis's influential career through documents from numerous archives, interviews with 275 people who knew him, and rare footage of Lewis speaking from his hospital bed after Selma. John Lewis offers unparalleled details about his personal and professional relationships and stands as the definitive biography of a man whose heroism during the civil rights movement paved the way for a new era of freedom in America.
1144787758
John Lewis: A Life
Pulitzer Prize Finalist

New York Times Book Review Top 100 Books of 2024

Explore the “comprehensive and compelling” (Jon Meacham) biography of civil rights leader John Lewis, celebrated as “the conscience of Congress,” through a narrative that weaves together exclusive interviews, never-before-seen FBI files, and documents, offering profound insights into his significant role in American history and the civil rights movement.

Born into poverty in rural Alabama, John Lewis rose to prominence in the civil rights movement, becoming second only to Martin Luther King, Jr. in his contributions. As a Freedom Rider, he played a crucial role in integrating bus stations across the South. Lewis was a prominent leader in the Nashville sit-in movement and delivered a historic speech at the 1963 March on Washington. As the youngest speaker and chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), he transformed it into a major civil rights organization. His legacy endures through the harrowing events at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where he survived a brutal beating on “Bloody Sunday.”

David Greenberg's “authoritative...definitive biography” (David J. Garrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning author) follows Lewis's journey beyond the civil rights era, highlighting his leadership in the Voter Education Project, where he helped enroll millions of African American voters across the South. This book uncovers the little-known story of his ascent in politics, first locally in Atlanta and then as a respected member of Congress. As part of the Democratic leadership, Lewis was admired on both sides of the aisle for his unwavering dedication to nonviolent integration and justice.

Rich with new insights, Greenberg's work captures John Lewis's influential career through documents from numerous archives, interviews with 275 people who knew him, and rare footage of Lewis speaking from his hospital bed after Selma. John Lewis offers unparalleled details about his personal and professional relationships and stands as the definitive biography of a man whose heroism during the civil rights movement paved the way for a new era of freedom in America.
39.99 In Stock
John Lewis: A Life

John Lewis: A Life

by David Greenberg

Narrated by David Sadzin

Unabridged — 24 hours, 27 minutes

John Lewis: A Life

John Lewis: A Life

by David Greenberg

Narrated by David Sadzin

Unabridged — 24 hours, 27 minutes

Audiobook (Digital)

$39.99
FREE With a B&N Audiobooks Subscription | Cancel Anytime
$0.00

Free with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription | Cancel Anytime

START FREE TRIAL

Already Subscribed? 

Sign in to Your BN.com Account


Listen on the free Barnes & Noble NOOK app


Related collections and offers

FREE

with a B&N Audiobooks Subscription

Or Pay $39.99

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Freedom Rider. Congressman. Activist. Hero. This is the defining story of a great American.

Pulitzer Prize Finalist

New York Times Book Review Top 100 Books of 2024

Explore the “comprehensive and compelling” (Jon Meacham) biography of civil rights leader John Lewis, celebrated as “the conscience of Congress,” through a narrative that weaves together exclusive interviews, never-before-seen FBI files, and documents, offering profound insights into his significant role in American history and the civil rights movement.

Born into poverty in rural Alabama, John Lewis rose to prominence in the civil rights movement, becoming second only to Martin Luther King, Jr. in his contributions. As a Freedom Rider, he played a crucial role in integrating bus stations across the South. Lewis was a prominent leader in the Nashville sit-in movement and delivered a historic speech at the 1963 March on Washington. As the youngest speaker and chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), he transformed it into a major civil rights organization. His legacy endures through the harrowing events at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where he survived a brutal beating on “Bloody Sunday.”

David Greenberg's “authoritative...definitive biography” (David J. Garrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning author) follows Lewis's journey beyond the civil rights era, highlighting his leadership in the Voter Education Project, where he helped enroll millions of African American voters across the South. This book uncovers the little-known story of his ascent in politics, first locally in Atlanta and then as a respected member of Congress. As part of the Democratic leadership, Lewis was admired on both sides of the aisle for his unwavering dedication to nonviolent integration and justice.

Rich with new insights, Greenberg's work captures John Lewis's influential career through documents from numerous archives, interviews with 275 people who knew him, and rare footage of Lewis speaking from his hospital bed after Selma. John Lewis offers unparalleled details about his personal and professional relationships and stands as the definitive biography of a man whose heroism during the civil rights movement paved the way for a new era of freedom in America.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"This biography sets a new standard by giving Lewis's post-civil rights story the depth of attention it deserves—and showing how our mild mannered seminarian submerged his pacifist tendencies enough to succeed in the bare-knuckled world of electoral politics."New York Times Book Review

“Riveting”Associated Press

“An exemplary life, and an exemplary biography that will rekindle readers’ commitment to racial justice.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Masterful”Washington Independent Review of Books

“A passionately researched and defining portrait of an American hero.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Tremendous”The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“John Lewis was my friend, steadfast ally, and personal hero. I loved him and miss him very much. Every page of David Greenberg’s biography brings him back to life with rich details that reveal not only his legendary moral compass, but the pressures and practical realities he maneuvered in both protest and politics.” —President Bill Clinton

“Full of revelations and compulsively readable, this book is—at long last—the biography that the great John Lewis deserves.” —Ambassador Andrew J. Young, former mayor of Atlanta and top aide to Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Behold an American life like no other - lived from outsider protest activist to insider savvy politician with epic, spiritual consequences. From hundreds of revealing interviews and exhaustive documentary research, Greenberg captures Lewis's poetic life in lyrical prose. How dearly we need this model right now of both unsurpassed moral leadership and of the craft of biography.”—David W. Blight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

“Monumental. A profoundly moving, indefatigably researched, and absorbingly written biography of one of the true heroes of the civil rights movements. Greenberg has given us a brilliantly comprehensive, thought provoking, and deeply personal history of an American hero.”—Peniel E. Joseph, author of Stokely: A Life.

“David Greenberg’s comprehensive and compelling biography of John Lewis is a landmark book— rich and sober-minded account of one of the most consequential Americans who ever lived. With his perennial commitment to American aspiration and to bearing witness to the gap between that aspiration and tragic reality, often at fundamental peril to himself, Lewis changed a nation. Greenberg’s powerful book shows us how.” —Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House

"An authoritative and indeed definitive biography of a lovely and deeply-principled man who was a true American hero."—David J. Garrow, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Bearing the Cross and Rising Star

John Lewis: A Life is a book especially for these challenging times when so much of Black history is under attack. David Greenberg’s book provides the kind of in-depth history that spells out in vivid detail how obstacles are overcome via people like John and the many others chronicled in the book. A much needed roadmap to the effort John embraced—to ‘make America one.’””—Charlayne Hunter Gault, Civil Rights activist

"I knew John Lewis from earliest times. David Greenberg's brilliant biography captures all the 'Good Trouble' John wrought to save his country from itself."—David Levering Lewis, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of W. E. B. Du Bois: A Biography 1868-1963

"“This is the book we’ve all been awaiting. Deeply researched, beautifully written, and frequently revelatory, Greenberg’s portrait of John Lewis is as inspiring as the civil-rights hero himself." —Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of King: A Life

Booklist (starred review)

Greenberg captures Lewis’ life, achievements, and times with heartstopping precision…A passionately researched and defining portrait of an American hero.”

New York Times Book Review

Gives Lewis’s post-civil rights career the attention it deserves—and shows how this mild-mannered seminarian submerged his pacifism enough to succeed in bare–knuckled politics.”

Barnes&Noble.com

This is the defining story of a great American.”

AudioFile

[A] highly listenable and informative work. Sadzin’s smooth narration adds to the compelling nature of the text. Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award.”

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2024-07-23
Comprehensive biography of the late civil rights leader and legislator.

John Lewis practically emerged from the womb with his habits fully formed: at a very early age, he became entranced by books, taking as a lifelong talisman the poem “Invictus” and its closing: “I am the master of my fate, / I am the captain of my soul.” Born in 1940 to tenant farmers in southeastern Alabama, Lewis came of age as the Civil Rights Movement was gathering force; while a student at the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, he helped organize lunch-counter sit-ins and even tried to organize an NAACP chapter on campus until warned that the white churches funding the college “would never tolerate it.” Organizing voter drives during Freedom Summer 1964, Lewis practiced Martin Luther King Jr.’s doctrine of nonviolence, which he held to for the rest of his life, even as he endured beatings by white supremacists and police. He made news for refusing to give in and later, having taken the case for civil rights to first John and then Robert Kennedy, for entering national legislative politics. Greenberg allows that Lewis could be a contrarian with a radical edge; he stated at the March on Washington, for example, “We are involved in a serious social revolution.” He remained a force for progressivism in Congress—and, Greenberg notes, an early and strong ally of the LGBTQ+ community and advocate for the environment. Greenberg also points to uncomfortable moments, including Lewis’ divisive primary race against fellow Black progressive Julian Bond, whose enmity extended unto death (Lewis was not invited to Bond’s funeral). Greenberg also writes perceptively about how Lewis finessed his friendship with Hillary Clinton to become a champion of Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential race and how Lewis became a leader in the repudiation of Trump-era white supremacism before his death in 2020.

An exemplary life, and an exemplary biography that will rekindle readers’ commitment to racial justice.

Product Details

BN ID: 2940191625102
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: 10/08/2024
Edition description: Unabridged
From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews