Hellhound on His Trail: The Electrifying Account of the Largest Manhunt in American History

Unless you are an avowed conspiracy theorist, in which case "Hellhound on his Trail" will leave you kicking and screaming in disgust, Hampton Sides delivers an amazingly well-researched, fast moving story about the assassination of MLK and the manhunt to find his killer. I'll gladly take any unhelpful votes for my review by stating out of hand that after reading a lot over the years on this topic, including now this book, I remain convinced in the guilt of James Earl Ray as King's assassin and am equally unmoved by the purported civil trial, Jowers vs. King, that conspiracy theorists tout, but which contains large issues (which I won't use this review to debunk).Essentially alternating chapters between the James Earl Ray and MLK, Sides builds a pretty thorough and detailed story of James Early Ray's (and all his assumed identities) from the time he escaped Missouri State Prison in April 1967 to his time in Mexico and California before he made his fateful journey back East to kill MLK. What emerges is the portrait of a socially awkward, racist loner, living a nomadic life in spartan and many cases decrepit flophouses while dressing fastidiously in a suit. Ray comes from a broken, down on their luck family and like his other brothers, who all wind up in trouble with the law, he is no different. He's a virulent racist, fascinated with George Wallace and his Presidential ambitions, even volunteering to get enough signatures to get his name on the ballot in California. Ray also harbors ambitions to get to Africa and fight as a mercenary in Rhodesia to ensure a white supremacist regime holds on to power. Sides meticulously and comprehensively builds a portrait of someone whose psychological profile certainly is conducive to the crime he confessed to and the mountain of evidence that points to him as the lone gunman responsible for King's murder.In alternating chapters, Sides follows King's last months, his work on the Poor People's Campaign and his involvement in the sanitation strike that began in Memphis and which brought King to the city to join in solidarity with those workers, in spite of the concerns among his inner circle. Sides covers the growing tension and schism within the black movement during an aborted initial march in Memphis in late March that turned violent and convinced King that his reputation and that of his non-violent principles required a peaceful march in Memphis. This confluence of events and decisions ultimately kept King and the SCLC in Memphis, trying to overturn an injunction preventing them from marching as Ray came to town, setting up in a rooming house only hundreds of feet from the Loraine Motel.We follow Ray's movements to Canada and over to Europe building new identities and growing increasingly desperate as his money begins to run out and he is struggling in his attempts to get to Rhodesia. Eventually, the significant resources of the FBI (the irony given Hoover's massive attempts to discredit and subvert King), the tools of modern detective work like the use of fingerprints, ballistics and material analysis, along with the cooperation with international units like New Scotland Yard along with pure luck, led Ray's capture as he attempted to get to Belgium from London days after the US was mourning the death of another iconic leader in RFK.As an avid reader of Civil Rights books, including the Taylor Branch trilogy and David Garrow's classic, "Hellhound on His Trail" serves as a fittingly well researched and written book on the final chapter of King's brilliant life and tragic death at the hands of the sick and pathetic racist loner that was James Earl Ray. Sure, there are many people who detested MLK, many within federal, state and local governments along with the range of white supremacist organizations fighting out in the open against progress being made during the Civil Rights movement. Many people find it hard to believe James Earl Ray acted alone and Sides is certainly not going to convinced the most hardened doubters. For almost anyone else, he lays down a phenomenally compelling and well-researched chronicle that should satisfy all but those hardened doubters that James Earl Ray was solely responsible for murdering MLK.

I tend to stick with only non- fiction books for my reading enjoyment. Most of these books are rather direct and are inclined to state the facts and move on from one important point to the next, with little attention to details. But there are non- fiction books that are more attuned to setting the mood and read more like a work of fiction and an excellent example is Hellhound on His Trail.This book covers the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. by James Earl Ray and it does so in a way that effectively intermingles education with engaging style. Starting with the educational aspects of the book, I found them excellent. I was not previously well versed at all on this event and through this book, I learned many things about Ray, King, and others that I didn’t know before. I knew the tragic event took place in Memphis at a hotel, but the extent of my knowledge ended right there. After reading Hellhound on His Trail, I feel like I have a solid understanding of the events leading up to the assassination, Ray’s attempts to find safe haven in a foreign country, and his ultimate arrest.One thing that I found fascinating upon finishing this book is just how close Ray came to getting away with the crime. I think it’s safe to say that, had Ray murdered someone lesser known, he would have never been caught because the FBI and other agencies wouldn’t have bothered spending so much money, time, effort, and manpower to tracking down the killer. Even with so many people working toward the end goal, they still barely succeeded.This book sticks almost entirely to the events leading up to the assassination and the efforts to track down Ray and bring him to justice. The book doesn’t delve into the trial itself and only briefly touches on the topic of conspiracy. The author has studied the possibility of a conspiracy and is convinced that Ray acted alone, but there aren’t many pages devoted to discussing this. If you’re a conspiracy theorist, you could find this part of the book dissatisfying and want to seek out additional reading.There are more than 400 pages to this book, but I like that it is divided into such a large number of relatively short chapters. This makes it easy to pace yourself, since there are so many end- of- chapter stopping points. But the truth is, once you start reading, you may not want to stop. Hellhound on His Trail is a suspenseful book that reads like a novel. Even though you ultimately know what will happen in the end, you find yourself still anxious to turn the page to see what happens next. Any book that can keep me turning the pages even when I already know the outcome is a sure winner and when I think about the writing style and the education this book provides, it adds up to a must- read book that deserves, and earns, my highest recommendation.

Another brilliant and interesting read

This book is a must read for anyone that cares about civil rights and MLK!

This is the second book I have read by this genius writer, Hampton Sides. The first was "The Wide Wide Sea" published in New Zealand this year. Both books are amongst my favourites. "HellBound" alternates between Martin Luther King's life and the life of his assassin. Superbly researched and beautiful written, I feel as though I have been on a journey back in time similar to the way I felt after reading "The Wide Wide Sea" on Captain Cook's last journey. Can't wait to read more books by this author.

Hampton Sides revisits the 1968 murder of Dr Martin Luther King and for those who have never read `An American Death (1972)' by Gerold Frank or `Killing The Dream (1998)', by Gerald Posner, this book will provide a reliable introduction and overview to the case.In terms of style, `Hellhound' is very different from the aforementioned books. Sides is a fine writer and the book moves along at a great pace. He shifts the scene of the action repeatedly as he paints pictures of Memphis, the life and times of James Earl Ray and the career of King as he moves ever closer to his death in Sides' home-town.All of this is done against some excellent historical background material. Sides presents the troubled city of Memphis and the stand-off between the striking sanitation workers and the intractable Mayor Loeb. It was this long-running dispute which, ultimately drew King to the city.In terms of detail regarding the murder, Sides doesn't really add much that isn't already known. Both Posner and Frank offered more nitty-gritty in their books. The author does provide some insights into the thoughts and deeds of the Memphis FBI staff, who were being pushed hard by Hoover, DeLoach and Attorney General Clark. The latter two men left Washington for Memphis in order to demonstrate a commitment and determination to track down Dr King's killer.The author stays with the story throughout the pursuit, capture and conviction of Ray and he explores the possibility that members of Ray's own family might have been aiding and abetting him as he set about his task.Sides chronicles some of the turmoil within King's inner-circle after the assassination and he makes sure to include the Poor People's March which did go ahead after the murder.Ray's jailhouse antics are touched upon and the protracted - and ultimately futile - attempts to earn a re-trial are exposed for the nonsense that they were.The book finishes with a few flourishes as the author considers some of the conspiracy theories which he dismisses with the same ease that Posner did.The faked `cablegram', Loyd Jowers, Betty Spates, `Alpha 184' and the appalling accusation made against Billy Eidson by William Pepper are all summarily dismissed as the lunacy that they all were. The 1999 `trial' that Pepper claimed as his moment of triumph is also set into context and, once there, its importance and consequence are seen to be illusory.All-in-all, a very good book which really does read like a thriller (even though Sides is uncomfortable with such a description). There isn't much new information here for those who have read the case before but, unlike previous authors, Sides has a gripping writing style.barry

Hampton Sides nimmt eine reichlich bekannte Episode der amerikanischen Geschichte und verwandelt es ein unlaublich packendes, interessantes, facettenreiches Lesevergnügen. Er schreibt großartig (praktisch wie ein Thriller-Autor), packt jede Menge neue Details in seine Story und zieht den Leser durch einen tollen Aufbau mit jeder Seite tiefer ins Geschehen. Zeitgeschichte auf bestmögliche Art niedergeschrieben. Nur zu empfehlen. Ebenso wie Sides Bücher "Das Geisterkommando" und "Blood and Thunder".