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

by Hampton Sides

Book Overview

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - On April 4, 1968, James Earl Ray shot Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel. The nation was shocked, enraged, and saddened. As chaos erupted across the country and mourners gathered at King's funeral, investigators launched a sixty-five day search for King's assassin that would lead them across two continents--from the author of Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers.

With a blistering, cross-cutting...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307387437
• ISBN13: 9780307387431
• Release Date: March 2011
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Informative and gripping.

I have studied many aspects covered in this book over the years, but this book repeatedly gave me new valuable information on this case and the Civil Rights movement generally. The author made me feel as though I was right there with the key players during these dramatic events. I have a newfound appreciation for the way Dr. King's inner circle (save the reprehensible Jesse Jackson) comported themselves throughout this tragedy with honor and aplomb. In addition, although it is not exactly a necessity at this point in our understanding, this book is another nail in the coffin of the insane conspiracy theories that are out there; there is simply no evidence that anyone other than Mr. Ray was responsible for the crime and this book again documents the reasons why. Yes, one single pathetic sociopathic loser is responsible for killing one of the greatest Civil Rights workers the world has ever seen. It's truly sad but sadly true. 4.5/5 stars; a terrific book and very tough to put down.

Fascinating

This is an incredibly researched account of the two principal characters, King and his killer, Starvo, aka Ray. Sides provides fascinating insight into the strange life Starvo/Ray lived as well as a frank view of ML King's world. I found it particularly interesting to hear about Jesse Jackson's lack of a role at the assasination and his self promotion afterwards. It's amazing that the black community gives him a pass on his behavior. Coretta King is portrayed as a very classy lady throughout the book. Hoover's actions at the FBI were terrible during this period of time and an enlightening side note to the main story.

Sides does it again, his book reads like a CSI mystery!

Hellhound on His Trail / Hampton Sides Sides does it again, his book reads like a CSI mystery! In choosing the assignation of Martin Luther King, Sides had an incredible amount of historical documentation at his disposal. This massive body of evidence is the raw ingredients that Sides uses to fire-up a tight and fascinating thriller. Thanks to an unprecedented international investigation and the rich perspective of time, Sides stalks every move of Earl Ray and MLK. To this point, the title of Side's book holds a second meaning. Hellhound opens with Earl Ray's daring escape from prison a year before the assignation and it ends with Ray's last escape attempt several years after the murder. The story in between is pretty incredible. Culturally, Hellhound also delivers the colorful and turbulent 60's to our door. Through Side's craft, we relive the American era of southern segregating from both sides, black and white. What a book, 5 stars!

Could Not Put it Down

Hellhound on his Trail is an outstanding book. Sides writes about all that happened before and after the assasination of ML King In Memphis in 1968. His writing style is captivating at a minimum. Even though we know how it turns out, I couldn't put the book down. The reader learns what is going on inside the King organization prior to the killing and what is going on with the assassin, James Earl Ray. The author is from Memphis and his love and concern for the city shows in the way he invovles Memphis in the unfolding drama. The tension around the actual shooting, and the unbelievably thorough search for Ray were the best parts of the book for me. By the time the good guys have Ray under arrest, I felt like I had grown to actually know him. I would have liked to see the author wrtie a bit more about the trial and Ray's time in prison, but I guess the book had to have boundaries. A great, and fun read. Unqualified five star recommendation

A political thriller

Yale-trained historian Hampton Sides hails from Memphis. His father had worked on the MLK trial as a lawyer. So it's no wonder that this fascinating book feels like a personal memoir, an intimate story from the writer. This book is the story of all the characters involved in the murder of Martin Luther King, their characteristics, their habits, their quirks. And, so typical of Hampton Sides, this book is thoroughly researched, well-written, and well-organized. I was just a child in my single digits when MLK was assassinated. I read this book to learn more about the story. And what a story this is. Sides spoke with every witness, every neighbor of all the people in the book. He traveled thousands of miles to relive the towns and travel routes of the people in this book. He didn't leave anything to the imagination. And, typical of Sides, chapters are short and ideal for quick readings. Personalities switch often: starting with Eric Galt (James Early Ray) and his penchant for Mexican whores and cheap photographs, to nemisis J Edgar Hoover, President Lyndon Johnson, George Wallace and the man MLK himself (who lived quite a shameful life behind curtains), this book is laden with historical passages never before revealed. Although we all know how the killing of MLK transpired, Sides does not take sides with anyone. No character in this book is herofied. What the reader experiences is the rising backfrop to the actual focus of this book: the hunt for James Earl Ray. Out of the 400 pages of this book, the first 164 take place before the MLK assassination. We learn about the distrust J Edgar Hoover had toward MLK. We read about James Earl Ray's shyness, Johnson's rudeness and George Wallace's resoluteness. The reader finally finishes this book not completely wanting to take just one side anymore, but none. I highly recommend this book for history fans, people fascinated with FBI history and its people, social history of the 1960s and admirers of MLK. It's a hard book to put down once you get started, so happy reading. Your mind will thank you for the intellectual insight.