FIRST EDITION OF STRIDE TOWARD FREEDOM, INSCRIBED BY DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
KING Jr., Martin Luther. Stride Toward Freedom. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958. Octavo, original half black cloth, original dust jacket. Housed in a custom clamshell box.
First edition of Dr. King's first book, an account of the Montgomery bus strike, boldly inscribed by the civil rights leader, "Best Wishes, Martin Luther King, Jr." (dated "9/13/58" in another hand).
In his first book, King presents a full and personal account of the bus strike in Montgomery, Alabama. Sparked by Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat to a white man, it was the first successful large-scale application of non-violent resistance to segregation in the United States. Non-violence, King reflects, "recognizes that social change cannot come overnight. But it causes one to work as if it were a possibility the next morning." With eight pages of black-and-white photographs. Blockson 4119.
Book about-fine with text clean, spine head lightly rubbed. Dust jacket very good with mild fading to spine, modest loss to spine ends, mild edge-wear including crease to front flap. A desirable inscribed copy.