Kindle
$12.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$49.99
Paperback
$7.49
$7.49
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery May 22 - 23 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery May 20 - 21
Only 15 left in stock - order soon.
$$7.49 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$7.49
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the authors

Martin Luther King Jr.
+ Follow
Dorothy Cotton
+ Follow
See all
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Why We Can't Wait (Signet Classics) Paperback – February 11, 2024

4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,472 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$7.49","priceAmount":7.49,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"7","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"49","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"PNBMb7q6JDwEMa4KjTk4qj7%2BgoxlPAlj9BuTb%2BS5FvxZVfguS16tVXZCptQIlaDk%2BuR6gReiq90yEYiup51AnIb85KNaJCmfdvgi2rWUy04eRHkBqnGKltiGuH7xzg4TImzJTExI3DA%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Martin Luther King’s classic exploration of the events and forces behind the Civil Rights Movement—including his Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963.

“There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.”

In 1963, Birmingham, Alabama, was perhaps the most racially segregated city in the United States. The campaign launched by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights movement on the segregated streets of Birmingham demonstrated to the world the power of nonviolent direct action.

In this remarkable book—winner of the Nobel Peace Prize—Dr. King recounts the story of Birmingham in vivid detail, tracing the history of the struggle for civil rights back to its beginnings three centuries ago and looking to the future, assessing the work to be done beyond Birmingham to bring about full equality for African Americans. Above all, Dr. King offers an eloquent and penetrating analysis of the events and pressures that propelled the Civil Rights movement from lunch counter sit-ins and prayer marches to the forefront of American consciousness.

Since its publication in the 1960s, Why We Can’t Wait has become an indisputable classic. Now, more than ever, it is an enduring testament to the wise and courageous vision of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Includes photographs and an Afterword by Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Book 4 of 11
    King Legacy
  2. Print length
    166 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    February 11, 2024
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.37 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0451527534
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0451527530
  8. Lexile measure
    1200L
  9. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

Why We Can't Wait (Signet Classics)
$7.49
Only 15 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Strength to Love: Gift Edition
$13.49
Get it as soon as Sunday, May 19
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
One of these items ships sooner than the other.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“No child should graduate from high school without having read this book. In telling the story of the third American Revolution, it is as integral to American history as the Declaration of Independence.”—Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

About the Author

Martin Luther King, Jr., was born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, the son and grandson of pastors. He graduated from Morehouse College and Crozer Theological Seminary, becoming at age 25 pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He subsequently earned his Ph.D. from Boston University. In 1957 he and other civil rights leaders founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization he led until his death. A proponent of Gandhian principles of non-violence, he led many protests and demonstrations for civil rights, including the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 29, 1963, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Winner of the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, he continued to fight for civil rights, the eradication of poverty and the end of the Vietnam War. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, TN.

Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., is the founder and president of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, an organization committed to fighting for social, political, and economic justice for people of all races, genders, and creeds. A two-time candidate for President of the United States, Rev. Jackson has been called the “conscience of the nation.” Rev. Jackson is also renowned for his efforts around the world to spread the promise of democracy, human rights, and peace. Rev. Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline, reside in Chicago and are the proud parents of five children.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Signet (February 11, 2024)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 166 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0451527534
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0451527530
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1200L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.37 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 1,472 ratings

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Previous page
  1. Martin Luther King Jr.

    Martin Luther King Jr.

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968), Nobel Peace Prize laureate and architect of the nonviolent civil rights movement, was among the twentieth century’s most influential figures. One of the greatest orators in U.S. history, King also authored several books, including Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, and Why We Can’t Wait. His speeches, sermons, and writings are inspirational and timeless. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Dorothy Cotton

    Dorothy Cotton

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

    See more on the author's page
Next page

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
1,472 global ratings
I can't recommend Why We Can't Wait highly enough
5 Stars
I can't recommend Why We Can't Wait highly enough
A truly fine work by a remarkable man, Martin Luther King, engaged in revolution through the principles of direct nonviolent action. A great document on the civil-rights marches of the early 1960s, which includes Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." This is necessary reading for anyone who wants to learn more about the civil rights events of the 60s.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

matthew a. barrett
5.0 out of 5 stars Required Reading For All
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2023
Verified Purchase
Dr. King Jr. is such a provocative and eloquent writer who stands historically pronounced as an advocate for human rights. That's why he takes delicate care in articulating the structural deficiencies of Black progress in America in the late 1960s while arguing for civil rights. Why We Can't Wait is critical, observational, explanatory, and philosophical in its argument for Black liberation. In addition, readers will develop a thorough understanding of Dr. King's non-violence philosophy, strategy, and implementation. He delineates its success in Alabama while defending its merits as the most practical strategy to ultimately achieve peace. He also calls for reparations, not simply to provide a check but to elevate a brutaly marginalized community to the equal status of America's white population. That means investment in education, opportunities, resources, housing, all things granted by a number of New Deal social programs like the G.I. Bill in which blacks were excluded. Also included in the text is his moving "Letter From Birmingham Jail," which disputes the many contradictions coming from the country's clergy. Why We Can't Wait should be required reading in high schools today, considering our many relevant social/political movements.

“Emancipation was a Proclamation but not a fact.” - Lyndon B. Johnson
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
JillTheRN
5.0 out of 5 stars I still have a dream…
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2023
Verified Purchase
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a scholar unlike most, a true one-of-a-kind human. He was able to touch the souls and minds of human beings of all races and creeds through both his words and his actions. He wasn’t an extremist like Brother Malcolm (whom I still hold to high esteem) but he wasn’t a passive individual, either, like I learned in school.

Dr. King wanted the freedom of all oppressed peoples, but especially that of the American Negro, since the law of the land proclaimed everyone to be created equal and the Negro was far from it. With this book, I was able to peer into a brilliant mind and learn that he wanted freedom immediately, but he knew that being explicit with his intent would be lost amongst those who held control at the time.

Through this book, I learned of the many contributions of the late Harry Belafonte (my Fraternity brother - I’m a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.) and how pivotal he was in the civil rights movement, but especially to the plight of Birmingham; I learned about Fred Shuttlesworth and how as the leader of the Alabama SCLC division, he fought tirelessly for his neighbors to have freedom; and let us not forget that of the late A. Philip Randolph (also my Fraternity brother) - a brilliant man and labor activist whose contributions cannot and should not be ignored.

Dr. King realized that he was the general of the civil rights movement, but he recognized his soldiers as well. He realized that he was able to be successful through the contributions of many - children, young adults, parents, clergymen and the like. I wish I had learned about this version of Dr. King in school. My favorite chapter was his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and particularly his discussion of his disappointment in the White moderate, because I share the exact same sentiments today. Please, read this book and take your time with it. Don’t rush. Think critically. And try to understand the plight that we as American Negros still face in the 21st century.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Alden Bader
5.0 out of 5 stars amazing book must read no matter who you are
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024
Verified Purchase
amazing book must read no matter who you are, and this one arrived perfectly fine
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Roland Xavier
5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic in the Best Sense
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2013
Verified Purchase
100 years from now this book will be more important than it is now "50 years" after Dr. King wrote it. White liberals, including white Christians, still "don't get it" and need to reflect on the deep, deep sense of injustice underlying all Dr. King says, and had earlier summarized in his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (appended). Conservatives and "apolitical" pop culture devotees need to take a real, hard look at what is truly important -- and how the common good or common bad affects all! Black young people and all people of whatever color need to be brought face to face with the reality of what 100 years of "blow back" following the Civil War's passage of the 13th and 14th amendments, blow back including what the frightful "Jim Crow" era and segregation had "accomplished" -- and then stand astonished at what Dr. King and his colleagues and followers found and effectively used to answer that seeming victory of racism and hatred: "nonviolence," that is, nonviolent resistance to injustice whether "legalized" or not, and the willingness to pay the price of nonviolent resistance. Having lived through these last 50 years one wonders at the extent of the victory of Dr.King's movement -- and realizes he truly deserves to stand with the "founders" of this nation, just as Lincoln does "fourscore and ten" years after the signers of the Declaration of Independence. "All men... are created equal... are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights..[including]. life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness...." Pursuing that with a tenacity rarely equaled alone makes Dr.King a truly great American. But Why We Can't Wait is not only our most important statement of the Civil Rights Movement. It is also, theologically, the best statement have yet to Christians (and, yes, I would include all people of good will) as to how to act until Christ comes again.. One can see the seeds of future struggle -- to bring some old issues to completion but to also address old/new oppression: against all the poor, a host of others caused by war, the way class (economic especially) slams hard against earlier victories, and more. But these are noticed in embryo here. Dr. King writes Why We Can't Wait thinking of an earlier time, he writes during a time at which his influence had achieved a kind of peaceful peak (the hell of 1968 with overt opposition to the Vietnam War, overt support for the poorest of the poor and.... his assassination... lay ahead). Why We Can't Wait. doesn't summarize Dr. King and his legacy, but it does provide us with a center point, not only for Dr. King's life but one that could provide a centering point for every true American.
8 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Alberto
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente
Reviewed in Spain on August 10, 2023
Verified Purchase
Calidad
Report
Karlos Reilly
5.0 out of 5 stars Still highly relevant in 2022
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2022
Verified Purchase
Fascinating insight into not only a key stage of the 1950s/60s civil rights period by the preminent leader of the period, but also an articulation of challenges and demands which echo key messages from the Black Lives Matter movement. We may not have progressed as much as Dr King would have hoped but reading his material directly is very useful for people thinking about race relations in 2022. It also demonstrates that King was radical and an uncompromising champion of black rights, something which might not always be appreciated when looking back with hindsight
Report
Luis
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding
Reviewed in Canada on March 22, 2020
Verified Purchase
MLK will always lift your spirits and teach you to fight for what is right
One person found this helpful
 Report
Cliente Amazon
5.0 out of 5 stars Um livro sem igual
Reviewed in Brazil on October 26, 2018
Verified Purchase
Um dos melhores livros sobre a questão do racismo.
One person found this helpful
 Report
eggman
5.0 out of 5 stars キングは学問と行動が融合したスーパーマン。座右の書にしたい（Letter from Birmingham Jailを読んで）
Reviewed in Japan on May 6, 2022
Verified Purchase
最近、特にロシアによるウクライナ侵攻があってから、奥さんと政治学と政治家について話す機会が増えた。そういう時に、決まって疑問として出てくるのが、なぜ政治学のできる政治家が少ないのか、なぜ学者は政治に参加しないのか、学問も行動も両方できる人間はいないのか、という問いでした。

Letter from Birmingham Jailは名文と名高かったので、読んでみましたが、まさにキング牧師こそ博識と行動を両立しえた人物だったのだと思いました。
あまり知られていませんが、キング牧師は多様な学生を受け入れていることで有名なボストン大学でPhDを取得しています。そのためか、Letter from Birmingham Jailの中でさえ、聖オーガスチンやソクラテスの言葉が引用されていたり、またバトラー＝ボードンが『政治思想の名著50』で解説しているように、キング牧師は、ソローの『市民の反抗』やガンジーの非暴力主義、ヘーゲル（弁証法的な衝突と止揚による社会の成長）、カント（個人の尊重）からも影響を受けているそうです。
そしてこれだけの博識でありながら、「I have a dream」のような民衆に訴えかける演説により、政治活動の先導もできるのです。
いったいいままで歴史上探してみたときに、これほどの博識と政治的行動力を併せ持った人物が一体何人いたのでしょうか。

読んだそばから、座右の書にしたいと思いました。

＊＊＊

以下、自分なりに要約です。
※このLetterは、（黒人の解放運動に反対するかもしくは傍観しているだけの）南部の白人系キリスト教団体に対する非難の形態をとっているので、その団体批判の箇所があるのですが、そこは省いています。
・まず、交渉が必要なのは当たり前。交渉のためには、緊張関係が必要。緊張関係を生むためには、非暴力運動が必要
・「非暴力運動を行うには時期が適切ではない」という批判があるが、時間は中立であり、時間が解決はしてくれない。自由は決して圧制者から自発的に得られることはない。抑圧された人々が勝ち取らないといけない
・法には、正義の法と、不正義の法がある。不正義の法とは、一部の人間の選挙権や立法権を無視して作られた、非民主主義的な法律のことである
・不正義な法には従わない責任がある。不正義な法は、オープンに、愛情をこめて、ペナルティを受ける覚悟を持って破るべし。これは最も法を尊重する行為である
・黒人たちは、二つの陣営に分かれている。何もせずに現状に甘んじる人々と、暴力に訴えかねない黒人ナショナリストである。キング牧師の立場は、その中庸、愛と非暴力の抵抗である
・暴力を抑えるためにも、非暴力の直接的運動が必要である
・そうすることで、我々は「自己満足の暗いダンジョンから」脱し、「創造的な抗議の明るい丘」へ行くのだ

＊＊＊

自分が書くと無味乾燥ですが、実際はもっと詩的な言葉が随所にちりばめられていて、思わず声に出して読みたくなるような英文です。

日本人のあなたも、日本人じゃないあなたも、ぜひ読んでみてください。
One person found this helpful
 Report