What do you think?
Rate this book
When Harlem Nearly Killed King: The 1958 Stabbing of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
When Harlem Nearly Killed King spins the tale of a little-known episode in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. how, in 1958, King was stabbed by a deranged black woman in Harlem, and then saved by Harlem Hospital's most acclaimed African-American surgeon, using a little known and difficult procedure.
Pearson recreates America at the dawn of the civil rights movement, and in so doing probes and examines the living body politic of the nation, black and white, and shows us how change really painfully, not in one grand gesture, but in a thousand small and contradictory ways.
As the story of When Harlem Nearly Killed King unfolds, it offers up surprising how Harlem’s leading black bookseller was snubbed by King and his entourage in favor of a Jewish-owned department store; and how the acclaimed surgeon seems not to have been the doctor responsible for the surgery. As truths and apocrypha clash in these pages, what emerges is a powerful picture of change in race perspectives in America, and how such change really occurs — reminding us today that race in America is still unfinished business.
Pearson recreates America at the dawn of the civil rights movement, and in so doing probes and examines the living body politic of the nation, black and white, and shows us how change really painfully, not in one grand gesture, but in a thousand small and contradictory ways.
As the story of When Harlem Nearly Killed King unfolds, it offers up surprising how Harlem’s leading black bookseller was snubbed by King and his entourage in favor of a Jewish-owned department store; and how the acclaimed surgeon seems not to have been the doctor responsible for the surgery. As truths and apocrypha clash in these pages, what emerges is a powerful picture of change in race perspectives in America, and how such change really occurs — reminding us today that race in America is still unfinished business.
- GenresHistory
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
2 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 31, 2023
Review to Come.
April 6, 2010
The main topic of this wonderful book is the near fatal stabbing of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Izola Curry, a mentally unstable African-American woman, during Dr. King's visit to Harlem to promote his book Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story in September 1958. However, the author also uses this event to describe the political and racial climate in Harlem, New York City and the United States during that time, with rich portrayals of several important characters involved in this drama, which makes this book a valuable addition to the history of the civil rights movement.
King's four day visit to Harlem also coincided with the New York gubernational race between the incumbent Averell Harriman and the Republican opponent Nelson Rockefeller, who both recognized that the black vote in Harlem could decide who would be the state's next governor. Both supported the civil rights movement, and used King's visit for numerous photo ops and speeches to bolster their campaigns. Despite King's popularity he had a number of detractors, as the NAACP preferred to take a more conservative approach to the advancement of Negro rights, and its staid leadership did not fully endorse the tactics of the young preacher from Atlanta. They and other blacks also feared that Stanley Levison and Bayard Rustin, two of King's closest advisors, might damage the movement, due to their ties to the Communist Party. One of those who opposed King's methods was Izola Curry, whose distrust of preachers and Communists led her to heckle King and his supporters, and to decide to end his campaign once and for all. She approached him while he was signing copies of his book, and plunged a letter opener into his chest through his sternum. The knife's tip ended a fraction of an inch from his aorta; if the knife had punctured this blood vessel, King would have died within minutes.
King was rushed to nearby Harlem Hospital, and the hospital is soon surrounded by a huge crowd of well wishers and curious onlookers. The surgical team is prepared for him, but the Chief of Surgery, Dr. Aubré Maynard, cannot be located. The team defers to Maynard, as King waits on the operating table, with the knife still in place in his chest. While the reader waits for the great surgeon to appear, Pearson gives us a history of Harlem Hospital as a vital training ground for black doctors, and tells the story of the feared and hated Maynard and the other surgeons on the team, who prevented Maynard from a fatal mistake.
When Harlem Nearly Killed King was a far better read than I thought it would be, and is highly recommended.
King's four day visit to Harlem also coincided with the New York gubernational race between the incumbent Averell Harriman and the Republican opponent Nelson Rockefeller, who both recognized that the black vote in Harlem could decide who would be the state's next governor. Both supported the civil rights movement, and used King's visit for numerous photo ops and speeches to bolster their campaigns. Despite King's popularity he had a number of detractors, as the NAACP preferred to take a more conservative approach to the advancement of Negro rights, and its staid leadership did not fully endorse the tactics of the young preacher from Atlanta. They and other blacks also feared that Stanley Levison and Bayard Rustin, two of King's closest advisors, might damage the movement, due to their ties to the Communist Party. One of those who opposed King's methods was Izola Curry, whose distrust of preachers and Communists led her to heckle King and his supporters, and to decide to end his campaign once and for all. She approached him while he was signing copies of his book, and plunged a letter opener into his chest through his sternum. The knife's tip ended a fraction of an inch from his aorta; if the knife had punctured this blood vessel, King would have died within minutes.
King was rushed to nearby Harlem Hospital, and the hospital is soon surrounded by a huge crowd of well wishers and curious onlookers. The surgical team is prepared for him, but the Chief of Surgery, Dr. Aubré Maynard, cannot be located. The team defers to Maynard, as King waits on the operating table, with the knife still in place in his chest. While the reader waits for the great surgeon to appear, Pearson gives us a history of Harlem Hospital as a vital training ground for black doctors, and tells the story of the feared and hated Maynard and the other surgeons on the team, who prevented Maynard from a fatal mistake.
When Harlem Nearly Killed King was a far better read than I thought it would be, and is highly recommended.
January 16, 2017
Book in a Nutshell: Forgotten in the midst of MLK's service and speeches, one September week in New York City could have altered the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Visiting Harlem to promote his first book, King deals with tribalism among other black leaders, attempts to take advantage of the fall's election season to garner support for his cause, and lands in the operating room after a shocking attack.
Reaction: In only 144 pages, this book exposes many events and issues surrounding Martin Luther King, Jr. and the broader civil rights movement that are underrepresented in many other works. The initial chapters that reveal King's struggles in his own ministry as a public figure provide a number of helpful lessons for those in leadership and ministry today. Pearson also provides just enough context regarding the various camps of black leadership, the political contests in New York City, and America's ongoing fascination and fear with Russian Communism to enable the reader to grasp how the attack on King's life could take place in the way that it did.
While already a short a read, the book seems to lose it's steady rhythm in the twelfth chapter as Pearson gets bogged down in discussing the backgrounds of the medical staff at Harlem Hospital. This focus on medicine does present a unique window into the everyday racial discrimination in the late 1950's, but this section feels alien to the rest of the book. All of the other chapters are of similar length and offer a helpful amount of context while keeping an enjoyable pace. But when the hospital staff emerges the pace shuts down. This lack of uniformity and the cumbersome interruption of the book's swift movement keeps me from giving it a higher ranking.
Quote: "Had he sneezed violently enough, there’s a good chance he would have drowned in his own blood."
Ranking: 3 of 5 stars
Reaction: In only 144 pages, this book exposes many events and issues surrounding Martin Luther King, Jr. and the broader civil rights movement that are underrepresented in many other works. The initial chapters that reveal King's struggles in his own ministry as a public figure provide a number of helpful lessons for those in leadership and ministry today. Pearson also provides just enough context regarding the various camps of black leadership, the political contests in New York City, and America's ongoing fascination and fear with Russian Communism to enable the reader to grasp how the attack on King's life could take place in the way that it did.
While already a short a read, the book seems to lose it's steady rhythm in the twelfth chapter as Pearson gets bogged down in discussing the backgrounds of the medical staff at Harlem Hospital. This focus on medicine does present a unique window into the everyday racial discrimination in the late 1950's, but this section feels alien to the rest of the book. All of the other chapters are of similar length and offer a helpful amount of context while keeping an enjoyable pace. But when the hospital staff emerges the pace shuts down. This lack of uniformity and the cumbersome interruption of the book's swift movement keeps me from giving it a higher ranking.
Quote: "Had he sneezed violently enough, there’s a good chance he would have drowned in his own blood."
Ranking: 3 of 5 stars
September 9, 2011
Nine years before he was tragically murdered, civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. survived another attempt on his life that nowadays is mostly forgotten, but in its day was very controversial - especially as it took place in Harlem, and his assailant was a black woman who stabbed him in the chest.
'When Harlem Nearly Killed King' tells the startling story of this very political and emotionally-charged incident. Hugh Pearson has written a gripping account of how and why MLK became such a very popular but also very divisive figure in 1950s America; why his visit to Harlem in 1958 was both welcome and unwelcome; how even the venue where he held a book-signing event in Harlem was controversial in itself; and last but certainly not least, how even the choice of hospital and surgeon to treat MLK after the assault were very thorny issues.
'When Harlem Nearly Killed King' is compelling and engrossing reading.
'When Harlem Nearly Killed King' tells the startling story of this very political and emotionally-charged incident. Hugh Pearson has written a gripping account of how and why MLK became such a very popular but also very divisive figure in 1950s America; why his visit to Harlem in 1958 was both welcome and unwelcome; how even the venue where he held a book-signing event in Harlem was controversial in itself; and last but certainly not least, how even the choice of hospital and surgeon to treat MLK after the assault were very thorny issues.
'When Harlem Nearly Killed King' is compelling and engrossing reading.
October 17, 2024
Just plain weird. Apparently written to prove that the doctor who said he saved King by removing the knife actually had little to do with the surgery, and that another two doctors did all the work. All doctors were black so I'm trying to find out where the significance is.
Still, some interesting discussions on the business of a city-owned hospital in Harlem, and also on its delicate relationship to Columbia University. Columbia's board supervised the hospital, but thought that the mainly Howard-educated doctors were unqualified and incompetent.
Still, some interesting discussions on the business of a city-owned hospital in Harlem, and also on its delicate relationship to Columbia University. Columbia's board supervised the hospital, but thought that the mainly Howard-educated doctors were unqualified and incompetent.
October 18, 2011
Fascinating insider's story in a short (100 page or so) read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews