Includes bibliographical references (pages 681-688) and index.

Part I. Philosophy : -- Religious: Nonviolence -- Nonviolence and racial justice (1957) -- The most durable power (1958) -- The power of nonviolence (1958) -- An experiment in love (1958) -- Speech before the Youth March for Integrated Schools (1959) -- My trip to the land of Gandhi (1959) -- The social organization of nonviolence (1959) -- Pilgrimage to nonviolence (1960) -- Suffering and faith (1960) -- Love, law, and civil disobedience (1966) -- Nonviolence: the only road to freedom (1966) -- A gift of love (1966) -- Showdown for nonviolence (1968) ; -- Social: Integration -- Our struggle (1956) -- Walk for freedom (1956) -- The current crisis in race relations (1958) -- Who speaks for the South? (1958) -- The burning truth in the South (1960) -- An address before the National Press Club (1962) -- The case against "tokenism" (1962) -- Bold design for a new South (1963) -- The ethical demands for integration (1963) -- Behind the Selma March (1965) -- Political: Wedged between democracy and Black nationalism : -- Facing the challenge of a new age (1957) -- The rising tide of racial consciousness (1960) -- Equality now: the President has the power (1961) -- The time for freedom has come (1961) -- In a word : now (1963) -- Hammer on civil rights (1964) -- Negroes are not moving too fast (1964) -- Civil right no. 1 : the right to vote (1965) -- Next stop: the North (1965).

Part II. Famous sermons and public addresses : -- Give us the ballot : we will transform the South (1957) -- If the Negro wins, labor wins (1962) -- The American dream (1961) -- I have a dream (1963) -- Eulogy for the martyred children (1963) -- Nobel prize acceptance speech (1964) -- Our God is marching on! [Selma, Alabama speech] (1965) -- A time to break silence (1967) -- Where do we go from here? (1967) -- A Christmas sermon on peace (1967) -- The drum major instinct (4 February 1968) -- Remaining awake through a great revolution (31 March 1968) -- I see the promised land (3 April 1968).

Part III. Historic essays : -- Letter from Birmingham City Jail (1963) -- Black power defined (1967) -- A testament of hope (1968) -- Part IV. Interviews : -- Kenneth B. Clark interview (1963) -- Playboy interview: Martin Luther King, Jr. (1965) -- Transcript of "Meet the press" television news interview (1966) -- Transcript of "Face to face" television news interview (1967) -- Part V. Books : -- Stride toward freedom (1958) -- The strength to love (1963) -- Why we can't wait (1964) -- Where do we go from here: chaos or community? (1967) -- The trumpet of conscience (1967) -- Appendix : Additional interview : -- Conversation with Martin Luther King (1968).

On August 28, 1963, famed civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. shared his dream of a better world on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. His renowned "I Have a Dream" speech is only one among many places he laid out the philosophy of justice and nonviolence that changed the world forever. Fifty years after his death, King's writings remain the best articulation of our best collective hope for a more just, compassionate, and peaceful world. Here, in the only major one-volume collection of his writings, speeches, interviews, and autobiographical reflections, is Martin Luther King Jr. on nonviolence, social piety, integration, black nationalism, and the ethics of love and hope. In the years after his death, the Nobel laureate's writings have only grown in significance and in their prophetic power to challenge and guide us into a better future. - Cover flap.

Speeches, writings, interviews, and excerpts from five of Martin Luther King's books are presented in chronological order within topical groupings.