The arc of Lewis’s life is ably accounted for in historian Raymond Arsenault’s new book, John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community, though it sometimes drains its subject of his dynamism, focusing on the bare facts of his life at the expense of emotional punch ... He offers the first comprehensive biography of the late civil rights giant ... The result is a work that doesn’t quite resurrect Lewis — turn text into flesh — even if it promises to be a compelling academic tool.
Deeply researched and accessible ... A substantial entry in Yale’s Black Lives series, focuses primarily on the activist-turned-politician’s public life and is successful on this score.
