chaotic compendiums: Book Review - Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Book Review - Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides

Synopsis: On April 23, 1967, Prisoner #416J, an inmate at the notorious Missouri State Penitentiary, escaped in a breadbox. Fashioning himself Eric Galt, this nondescript thief and con man—whose real name was James Earl Ray—drifted through the South, into Mexico, and then Los Angeles, where he was galvanized by George Wallace’s racist presidential campaign.

On February 1, 1968, two Memphis garbage men were crushed to death in their hydraulic truck, provoking the exclusively African American workforce to go on strike. Hoping to resuscitate his faltering crusade, King joined the sanitation workers’ cause, but their march down Beale Street, the historic avenue of the blues, turned violent. Humiliated, King fatefully vowed to return to Memphis in April.

With relentless storytelling drive, Sides follows Galt and King as they crisscross the country, one stalking the other, until the crushing moment at the Lorraine Motel when the drifter catches up with his prey. Against the backdrop of the resulting nationwide riots and the pathos of King’s funeral, Sides gives us a riveting cross-cut narrative of the assassin’s flight and the sixty-five-day search that led investigators to Canada, Portugal, and England—a massive manhunt ironically led by Hoover’s FBI.

First Line: "The prison bakers sweated in the glare of the ovens, making bread for the hungry men of the honor farm."

Random Quote: "All through the morning, King sat at a cramped Sunday-school desk, a creaky affair with a tiny wooden writing surface attached by a slender arm. He listened quietly to his staffers as they deconstructed the disaster in Memphis. They bickered and hurled accusations and named names. They agreed on little - except that Memphis was a catastrophe, and that under no circumstances should King go back to that troubled river town."

Review: I have always felt a strong connection to Dr. Martin Luther King. I was born and raised in Memphis (the same year as Hampton Sides) and vividly remember the annual marches there honoring Dr. King. My family has always been active in progressive politics - which requires commitment in the conservative Southeast. I lived in Atlanta for five years and my son and I made a point of making an annual trek to the King Center. It is a place of great beauty and poignancy - the remains of what was once Sweet Auburn decaying all around it like a bomb went off and everyone couldn't wait to forget.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcon X - Image via Wikipedia

This is a wonderful book of popular history that manages to be a page-turner even though you already know the outcome. Sides provides a detailed almost moment-by-moment account of the stalking of Dr. King, of his assassination, and of the ultimately successful manhunt for his killer. It is ironic that Hoover's FBI was successful in tracking down James Earl Ray due in part to innovations introduced by J. Edgar Hoover who famously detested Dr. King; forensic innovations plus over 3,000 agents will net you a killer, especially if he was stupid enough to throw the gun away near the scene along with his laundry bearing unique laundry markers.

This is a reminder of a sad and terrible time in our nation's history and of the tragedy of a man who rose to the occasion with grace and dignity only to be shot down in a senseless act of violence by a prison escapee with a $50 bounty on his head. We should never forget the sacrifices of those who came before us and who made it possible for us to have the opportunities we all share.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me an advance copy of this book for review.

Reading Challenges: ARC Reading Challenge, 2010 100+ Reading Challenge