A riveting account
of the origins and legacy of "I Have a Dream."
Forty years ago, Martin Luther
King, Jr. electrified the nation when he delivered his
"I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of
the Lincoln Memorial. King's prophetic utterances started
the long overdue process of changing America's idea
of itself. His words would enter the American lexicon,
galvanizing the civil rights movement, becoming a touchstone
for all that the country might someday achieve.
The Dream is the first book about
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legendary "I Have a Dream"
speech. Opening with an enthralling account of the August
day in 1963 that saw 250,000 Americans converge at the
March on Washington, The Dream delves into the fascinating
and little-known history of King's speech. Hansen explores
King's compositional strategies and techniques, and
proceeds to a brilliant analysis of the "I Have
a Dream" speech itself, examining it on various
levels: as a political treatise, a work of poetry, and
as a masterfully delivered and improvised sermon bursting
with biblical language and imagery.
In tracing the legacy of "I
Have a Dream" since 1963, The Dream insightfully
considers how King's incomparable speech "has slowly
remade the American imagination," and led us closer
to King's visionary goal of a redeemed America.
