The main topic of this wonderful book is the near fatal stabbing of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Izola Curry, a mentally unstable African-American woman, during Dr. King's visit to Harlem to promote his book Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story in September 1958. However, the author also uses this event to describe the political and racial climate in Harlem, New York City and the United States during that time, with rich portrayals of several important characters involved in this drama, which makes this book a valuable addition to the history of the civil rights movement.

King's four day visit to Harlem also coincided with the New York gubernational race between the incumbent Averell Harriman and the Republican opponent Nelson Rockefeller, who both recognized that the black vote in Harlem could decide who would be the state's next governor. Both supported the civil rights movement, and used King's visit for numerous photo ops and speeches to bolster their campaigns. Despite King's popularity he had a number of detractors, as the NAACP preferred to take a more conservative approach to the advancement of Negro rights, and its staid leadership did not fully endorse the tactics of the young preacher from Atlanta. They and other blacks also feared that Stanley Levison and Bayard Rustin, two of King's closest advisors, might damage the movement, due to their ties to the Communist Party. One of those who opposed King's methods was Izola Curry, whose distrust of preachers and Communists led her to heckle King and his supporters, and to decide to end his campaign once and for all. She approached him while he was signing copies of his book, and plunged a letter opener into his chest through his sternum. The knife's tip ended a fraction of an inch from his aorta; if the knife had punctured this blood vessel, King would have died within minutes.

King was rushed to nearby Harlem Hospital, and the hospital is soon surrounded by a huge crowd of well wishers and curious onlookers. The surgical team is prepared for him, but the Chief of Surgery, Dr. Aubré Maynard, cannot be located. The team defers to Maynard, as King waits on the operating table, with the knife still in place in his chest. While the reader waits for the great surgeon to appear, Pearson gives us a history of Harlem Hospital as a vital training ground for black doctors, and tells the story of the feared and hated Maynard and the other surgeons on the team, who prevented Maynard from a fatal mistake.

When Harlem Nearly Killed King was a far better read than I thought it would be, and is highly recommended! ( )