Hellhound On His Trail

Title: Hellhound On His Trail: The Electrifying Account of the Largest Manhunt  In American History

Author: Hampton Sides

Published: 2010

Literature essay:

I first saw mention of this book when it cracked the NYT Bestseller list back in 2010. I put it on my "Books to Read" list almost right away. Now, when books go on my list, you gotta understand that I don't just go out and buy them. I don't have that kind of dough. This is more of a "Watch for these books at garage sales and such" type of list. So lo and behold, there was a Borders here in town that went out of business late last year and I picked it up for around $7. Not a bad deal!

Anywho, in short, this is the story of Martin Luther King's assassination and the hunt for his killer. Back in college I had read a lot of MLK's original writings and plenty about his life, but I never really knew the story of his death. The Kennedy assassinations of John F. and Robert garnered more national attention, and I think therefor get a little more play in history books as well. Little did I know that this story is about as fascinating as it comes.

There are plenty of conspiracy theorists when it comes to MLK. Many folks believe it was a set-up by the government, the KKK or some other unknown but powerful group. The author presents all the evidence (in story form) and even addresses the theories, only to conclude that it was in fact a crazed lone gunmen operating (at least mostly) on his own volition.

There are plenty of true-crime books out there about killers. This isn't that book. James Earl Ray was not the average killer. It qualifies as more of a history book than anything. Sides does a fantastic job of breaking it up into smaller digestible chunks that also present the cultural context of MLK. This honestly feels like a story that should be required reading in American history classes. I recommend it to anyone and everyone.