Bringing History to Life with Jonathan Eig
Jonathan Eig is the bestselling author of six books, including his most recent, Pulitzer Prize-winning King: A Life. Vividly written and exhaustively researched, it is the first major biography in decades of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.―and the first to include recently declassified FBI files. In this revelatory new portrait of the preacher and activist who shook the world, Eig gives us an intimate view of King, who masterfully employed peaceful protest in the streets but was rarely at peace with himself. From the classroom to the pulpit to the streets of Birmingham, Selma, and Memphis, Eig dramatically re-creates the journey of a man who recast American race relations and became our only modern-day founding father―as well as the nation’s most mourned martyr.
Eig began his writing career at age 16, working for his hometown newspaper, The Rockland County Journal News (N.Y.). He studied journalism at Northwestern University, and went on to work as a reporter for The New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Dallas Morning News, Chicago magazine, and The Wall Street Journal.
According to his parents, his greatest claim to fame is that his name once appeared in a Jeopardy! question. Eig lives in Chicago with his wife and children and shares office space with the laundry machines.
Mark Bazer will join Jonathan in conversation. The host of The Interview Show, Bazer also frequently moderates events for Chicago Humanities and is a contributing writer for Chicago magazine.
Zoom registration approvals for this event will now close at 5:00 p.m. on the day of the event. Registrations received after this deadline will stay pending and will be processed after the live event, ensuring that those who missed the cutoff will still receive the event recording. Attendance is limited to patrons of participating ILP member libraries; registrations from non-member library patrons will be declined.
ILLINOIS LIBRARIES PRESENT | Spring 2026
Illinois Libraries Present is funded in part by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Illinois Libraries Present is committed to inclusion and accessibility. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Closed Captioning are provided.
