Hellhound on His Trail

The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin

By: Hampton Sides

Narrated by: Hampton Sides

Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

From the acclaimed best-selling author of Ghost Soldiers and Blood and Thunder, a taut, intense narrative about the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the largest manhunt in American history.

On April 23, 1967, Prisoner #416J, an inmate at the notorious Missouri State Penitentiary, escaped in a breadbox. Fashioning himself Eric Galt, this nondescript thief and con man - whose real name was James Earl Ray - drifted through the South, into Mexico, and then Los Angeles, where he was galvanized by George Wallace's racist presidential campaign.

On February 1, 1968, two Memphis garbage men were crushed to death in their hydraulic truck, provoking the exclusively African American workforce to go on strike. Hoping to resuscitate his faltering crusade, King joined the sanitation workers cause, but their march down Beale Street, the historic avenue of the blues, turned violent. Humiliated, King fatefully vowed to return to Memphis in April.

With relentless storytelling drive, Sides follows Galt and King as they crisscross the country, one stalking the other, until the crushing moment at the Lorraine Motel when the drifter catches up with his prey.

Against the backdrop of the resulting nationwide riots and the pathos of Kings funeral, Sides gives us a riveting cross-cut narrative of the assassins flight and the 65-day search that led investigators to Canada, Portugal, and England - a massive manhunt ironically led by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI.

Magnificent in scope, drawing on a wealth of previously unpublished material, this nonfiction thriller illuminates one of the darkest hours in American life - an example of how history is so often a matter of the petty bringing down the great.

©2010 Hampton Sides (P)2010 Random House

Critic reviews

"Sides's storytelling packs a visceral punch, and in Hellhound on His Trail, he crafts an authoritative and riveting account of two intersecting lives that altered the course of American history." (Amazon.com review)

Good Listen

Fascinating story. I'm glad the truth about Jesse Jackson is in print. That man is very difficult to stomach. It's still fascinates me that the Democratic Party worked so damn hard to keep the minorites "down". I don't understand how they keep supporting Democrats after the likes of LBJ, George Wallace, John McClellan, Orville Faubus (Bill Clinton's mentor), etc. etc. etc.

This book was a “great escape.”

Well-written. Well-read. A terrific piece so well researched it made me wonder how the author had time to sleep.

Excellent writer, detailed story

The history of Martin Luther King and James Earl Ray was detailed, interesting and kept me up all night. Even my 15 year old granddaughter enjoyed listening to it. This book is great for anyone to listen to. I was a teenager during the 60's which added to the intrigue. You learn how the FBI handled King's death and the detail of the manhunt. I'm not a history buff but I am now.

Troubling history well told

Very interesting and well written account of Martin Luther King's last days and James Earl Ray's motives and movements before and after his murder of King. Excellent narration.

Top notch thriller - only this one is true

Excellent review of both the assassination and the life of MLK. I think the historical perspective is right on, especially the insanity of Hoover declaring war on MLK, clearly abusing his power in the FBI to carry out his unstable vendetta. I think the statements about MLK's affairs with women is perhaps troubling personally, but doesn't and shouldn't detract from what this man did for civil rights in the US.
I didn't like the author's use of Ray's aliases in the story, since it confused the plot a bit. Perhaps that is nit picking, but it I would sometimes think "why are we hearing about this new guy?" when in fact it was about James Earl Ray, under a new alias.
I was concerned that too much of the book would focus on this nut Ray instead of the inspirational story of MLK, but I think the book hit a good balance between telling the whole story of the assassination, while integrating the greatness of the legend of MLK.
This is a "can't put it down" audiobook, so I highly recommend it.

superb nonfiction account of two lives intersecting, one significantly more important than the other

sad story but very well told. i kept waiting for it to slow down or get boring but it didnt. my experience with nonfiction is that first person narratives are more exciting and, this not being a first person narrative, i thought itd be academic or preachy or whatever, but it wasnt. its very novel-like in that sense. moves fast, provides lots of interesting color and depth to the events and people involved... just really really good overall. i really enjoyed it. i dont know why i waited so long to give it a go. and of course, all this goes without saying that it recounts one of the most seismic events in modern american history. hard to imagine that one person, so important and so full of potential, can be taken down by another person so completely devoid of redeeming qualities or consequence. probably thats why conspiracy theories abound, even endorsed by dr kings own family... hard to believe someone like eric galt aka james earl ray can take down someone like dr mlk jr. sad. and then right at the end, rfk gets killed. dark times in america... but a great great book.

Compelling and meticulous

Very strong narrative with really detailed background.
Paints a picture of a time and place very different than our own in some ways but WAY too similar in others.

I have thoroughly enjoyed every one of Hampton Sides’ books

If you enjoyed this one, try “In the Kingdom of Ice”. You’ll love it too!

Great detail, historically honest

There's so much more to this story than I knew before. Sides has done a great service researching the minute detail of the weapons, places and people while the witnesses are still alive.
I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to know the whole story of the end of Martin Luther King's too short life.
I only wish the author who was so dedicated to the facts had spent more time trying to get into James Earl Ray's head and assessing motivation.
Great read. Don't pass this one up.

Very Good

I usually don't like a history book, but this was well written and well narrated. Good Listen.