Just Finished Reading: Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr (FP: 1963) [51pp] 

Although I know something of the US Civil Rights movement (more later!) and MLK Jr himself (ditto) it was good to read the actual words of this significant American thinker and activist. ‘Letter...’ was in its essence a defence of the Rights movements use of non-violent but disruptive tactics in the US South against those who wanted MLK Jr and his followers to cool things down and ‘wait’ for deliverance in due time as well as against those in the larger Black community who advocated for a more robust and violent defence of their cause and very existence. Still, after all this time, it's a very powerful argument for everything he believed in and the power of a community united in its opposition to oppression and the denial of basic Human Rights. 

In addition to ‘Letter...’ this brief booklet also contains ‘The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life’ which was a sermon, given by MLK Jr, on the fundamental pillars of a Good Life. These he listed as Love of Self, Love of your Neighbour and Love of God. A person was incomplete without any of these three pillars or dimensions. Again, his arguments are good and, as far as I could tell, grounded both in Greek philosophy and, naturally, Christianity. 

This was the first book(let) in the Penguin Modern Classics boxset I picked up for my recent birthday. Containing 50 volumes taken from a very wide range of authors I’m looking forward to encountering new authors and new perspectives from across the globe. The ‘plan’ is to read the first 10 items from both boxsets (the other being the Penguin Little Black Classics series) this year and with, maybe, another 20 from each next year. At around 50-60 pages each they’re excellent for expanding my range (I might even start feeling a bit more ‘well read’ by the end of it) and adding much needed depth to my all too thin Review pile! More to come. Recommended.