Get Your Free Audiobook

  • The Sword and the Shield

  • The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Written by: Peniel E. Joseph
  • Narrated by: Zeno Robinson
  • Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins

Prime logo New to Audible Prime Member exclusive:
2 credits with free trial
1 credit a month to use on any title to download and keep
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks
Download titles to your library and listen offline
₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.
The Sword and the Shield cover art

The Sword and the Shield

Written by: Peniel E. Joseph
Narrated by: Zeno Robinson
Free with 30-day trial

₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for ₹500.00

Buy Now for ₹500.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice.

Publisher's Summary

This dual biography of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King upends longstanding preconceptions to transform our understanding of the 20th century's most iconic African American leaders.

To most Americans, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. represent contrasting ideals: self-defense vs. nonviolence, Black power vs. civil rights, the sword vs. the shield.

The struggle for Black freedom is wrought with the same contrasts. While nonviolent direct action is remembered as an unassailable part of American democracy, the movement's militancy is either vilified or erased outright.

In The Sword and the Shield, Peniel E. Joseph upends these misconceptions and reveals a nuanced portrait of two men who, despite markedly different backgrounds, inspired and pushed each other throughout their adult lives. This is a strikingly revisionist biography, not only of Malcolm and Martin, but also of the movement and era they came to define.

©2020 Peniel E. Joseph (P)2020 Basic Books

What listeners say about The Sword and the Shield

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.