Claire Rudolf Murphy 
Martin and Bobby 

Martin and Bobby follows the lives and final days and words of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy, showing how and where their work intersected and how their initially wary relationship evolved from challenging and testing each other to finally "arriving in the same place" as allies fighting poverty and racism. The stories of King and Kennedy reveal how life experiences affect a leader’s ability to show empathy for all people. The book also reveals how great political figures don’t work in a vacuum but are influenced by events and people around them. King’s courage showed Kennedy how to act on one’s moral principles, and Kennedy’s growing awareness of the country’s racial and economic divide gave King hope that the nation’s leaders could truly support justice. Young readers will be quickly engaged by the alternating details of each man’s final hours, before flashing back to compare their very different childhoods, young adult years, famous words and speeches, and rise to prominence. Fifty years later, the lives and words of Kennedy and King still stir people young and old and offer inspiration and insight on how our country can face the historic challenges of economic and racial inequality. Full of compelling historic photos and including sidebars to extend learning, source notes, a bibliography, suggested places to visit, and a time line, Martin and Bobby is an invaluable addition to any student’s or history buff’s bookshelf.