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Bringing History to Life with Jonathan Eig – Illinois Libraries Present (Virtual Event)
Jonathan Eig is the bestselling author of six books, including his most recent, Pulitzer Prize-winning King: A Life. 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.
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
Click here to register for the event, or scan the QR code below. Please note – When registering for the event, you will have to select your library. Hayner Library is listed as The Hayner Public Library District (so you’ll need to scroll to the letter “T” when searching for our library).
Hayner Library has partnered with Illinois Libraries Present* to bring you exciting, high-profile, virtual events featuring bestselling authors and nationally recognized presenters. These events are 100% online, so you can attend from the comfort of your own home – or wherever you’d like!

