The Resplendent Dr. King

I wanted to read a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., so I asked Shannon to pick me up one from the library.  I didn't have a specific one in mind, and I knew there would be several to choose from.  "Get one that isn't too big," I said.  "I'll give up a little detail for one that captures the essentials of his life and is more interesting."  So, she picked up the biography written by Marshall Frady.  Mr. Frady is, according to the back flap, a "critically acclaimed biographer and veteran journalist," and the book comes in at a slim 214 pages.  Every thing looks great.

From the build-up, you've no doubt already guessed that the book stinks.  I only made it 25 pages, and I could have plucked examples of the over-the-top writing from practically any paragraph.  But let's look at a single paragraph, which describes the first meeting between Dr. King and Coretta Scott (who I believe he ends up marrying, but I clearly didn't get that far in the book).

"But when she took his phone call, King startled her by promptly announcing sight unseen, in his pipe organ intonations, "Every Napoleon has his Waterloo, and I'm like Napoleon -- I'm at my Waterloo, and I'm on my knees."  Coretta was diverted enough to agree at least to have lunch with him."

 I'll break in here to say that King seems to have been prone to some rather elegant locutions himself, and Mr. Frady seems predisposed to show him up.  But anyway, let's get back to those "pipe organ intonations" and see what else the paragraph has in store for us . . .

"But when he appeared to pick her up the next day, she was disconcerted to find the source of such grandiloquence so squat and prosaic a figure.  He transported her in his Power Glide Chevrolet to a cafeteria, where he proceeded to effuse over her looks, then declaimed on everything from Southern-fried soul food to comparative philosophy, until to Coretta, as to the congregation at Ebenezer during his trial sermon, he seemed somehow through the sheer symphonics of his rhetoric to actually grow larger in stature before her eyes.  Delivering her back to the conservatory,  . . . . "

And that's about when I gave up on the book.  The paragraph isn't quite over, but for me, the book was officially over at this point.  Here are a few specific comments.  First off, I'm shocked that Opera recognizes "grandiloquence" as a word.  I admit that I did not.  Second, he "transported her in his Power Glide Chevrolet"?  Clearly, he couldn't have just written, "He picked her up in his Chevy".   Third, "back to the conservatory"?  What is this, Clue?

So, I guess I'm in the market for another biography of Martin Luther King.  If you know of any that weren't written by a pompous-sounding thesaurus, I suppose I'll take suggestions this time.