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Bringing History to Life with Jonathan Eig

Illinois Libraries Present Virtual Program

Register for this virtual program via ZOOM to receive a link. Watch at home or by using a library computer.

Jonathan EigExternal Link is the bestselling author of six books, including his most recent, Pulitzer Prize-winning King: A LifeExternal Link. Vividly written and exhaustively researched, it is the first major biography in decades of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.―and the first to include recently declassified FBI files.

In this revelatory new portrait of the preacher and activist who shook the world, Eig gives us an intimate view of King, who masterfully employed peaceful protest in the streets but was rarely at peace with himself. From the classroom to the pulpit to the streets of Birmingham, Selma, and Memphis, Eig dramatically re-creates the journey of a man who recast American race relations and became our only modern-day founding father―as well as the nation’s most mourned martyr.

Eig began his writing career at age 16, working for his hometown newspaper, The Rockland County Journal News (N.Y.). He studied journalism at Northwestern University, and went on to work as a reporter for The New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Dallas Morning News, Chicago Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal.

According to his parents, his greatest claim to fame is that his name once appeared in a Jeopardy! question. Eig lives in Chicago with his wife and children and shares office space with the laundry machines.

Mark Bazer will join Jonathan in conversation. The host of The Interview Show, Bazer also frequently moderates events for Chicago Humanities and is a contributing writer for Chicago magazine.

Illinois Libraries Present virtual programs are generously brought to you by Friends of the Rolling Meadows Library.

This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present (ILP), a statewide collaboration among public libraries offering premier events. ILP is funded in part by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of the Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).

ILP is committed to inclusion and accessibility. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Closed Captioning are provided for all events by default—no special request needed. To request accommodations not listed, please email illinoislibrariespresent@ila.org.

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