"I'm telling you, this is the book you want to read. Please, please go out and get a copy."
—Joe Madison, "The Black Eagle" (SiriusXM Radio)
"Euchner’s true contribution is the panoramic view he affords of this pivotal event. ... The march exceeded the dreams of even the most optimistic organizers. As many as 300,000 concerned citizens gathered on the Mall that day, boarding buses, driving, hitchhiking, and even roller skating to get there. ... However difficult the event may have been to pull off, however many hands were wrung over the possibility of clashes with police, the March on Washington ultimately “created the grandest image of dissent the nation had ever seen,’’ the author writes. '[W]e must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force,’ said King near the end of the long, hot day. Euchner’s dignified book reflects that kind of power." (Full review)
—James Sullivan, The Boston Globe
"A short but dynamic account of the landmark 1963 protest march that ended with Martin Luther King Jr.’s 'I Have a Dream' speech. Charles Euchner masterfully paints what he calls a 'pointillist portrait' of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which took place on Aug. 28, 1963. Drawing from interviews and diligent research, the author not only provides humanizing portraits of the major figures—including King, activist Bayard Rustin and march organizer A. Philip Randolph—he also effectively portrays ordinary marchers, both black and white. He accomplishes this through a kaleidoscopic collection of telling details, many of which serve to bring the often overly idealized March on Washington into focus.
"Euchner relates the friction among leaders of the civil-rights movement (Malcolm X ridiculed the March as the 'Farce on Washington'); how a prominent Catholic leader nearly pulled out of the event because he felt activist John Lewis’s speech was too radical; how expert sabotage of an expensive sound system caused a last-minute crisis; and how some of King’s advisors urged him not to use his 'I Have a Dream' speech, which they felt was trite. The author also engagingly portrays the rank-and-file marchers, combining inspirational stories—including that of an old black man, Joseph Freeman, who left Washington after escaping a racist mob in 1919, returning in 1963 for the march—with well-chosen, seemingly banal details, such as the fact that protesters on buses in Harlem complained loudly about the lack of air conditioning. Most impressive is Euchner’s amazing economy in telling this story; in just over 200 pages, he provides a wholly satisfying, comprehensive view of the March. A sharp, riveting depiction of what Martin Luther King called 'the greatest demonstration for freedom in the nation’s history.'”
—Kirkus Reviews
"Star Review," May 1, 2010
"Building on extensive interviews, archives, FBI files, and private recordings, the account reveals the complex struggles of march organizers and civil rights leaders in 1963, while also weaving in stories of ordinary people who traveled across the country to participate in the movement. In bringing to life this critical day in U.S. history, Euchner’s book serves as a powerful reminder of the arduous and on-going struggle for equality."
—Sonali Kolhatkar, Uprising Radio
"Behind the scenes, the March on Washington almost collapsed under the strain of massive bickering and internal disagreements. In Nobody Turn Me Around, academic and author Charles Euchner does an excellent job of telling the lesser-known story of the internal contradictions that nearly destroyed the historic event." (See complete review)
—Chuck Leddy
The Christian Science Monitor
"Charles Euchner has turned The March on Washington into a ‘people's history.’ Compelling and dramatic, this book is an important contribution."
—Juan Williams
Author of Eyes On The Prize and news analyst for NPR and Fox News
"As Charles Euchner’s riveting account makes clear, the American public, and most of the participants themselves, had only the barest grasp of the days, weeks and months of meticulous planning, the sacrifices, the triumphs and the internecine squabbles that went into the March on Washington that hot afternoon of August 28, 1963. ... All the key figures of the civil rights movement of the 1960s are here in Nobody Turn Me Around. To Euchner’s great credit, they are presented as flesh and blood, not as cardboard cutouts for some Black History Month display." (Full review)
—Jack Shakely, senior fellow, Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy, University of Southern California
"On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people of all races and backgrounds gathered on the National Mall in support of social equality and jobs and to listen to what would become Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic 'I Have a Dream' speech. It was the first nationally televised demonstration and a triumph of organization, despite the unprecedented logistical demands and myriad ego-bruising conflicts behind the scenes. Euchner weaves together many of the diverse, complex elements of the event, drawing on interviews from hundreds of participants, to offer a portrait of the famous (A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, Andrew Young) and the obscure (three young black men from Gadsden, Alabama). Euchner details King’s preparation for his momentous speech, the behind-the-scenes support offered by Malcolm X, though he declined to participate, and the controversy surrounding John Lewis’ intended fiery remarks. He also details FBI rumormongering, death threats against King and others, and the political maneuvering within the Kennedy administration as Congress pondered the fair employment legislation that was partially the impetus for the march. A sweeping, comprehensive look at a pivotal march in American history."
—Vanessa Bush, Booklist
"As was true of the historic March on Washington in 1963, so it is true of Charles Euchner's riveting new chronicle of the event: The massive human train of proud and determined Americans—ordinary, salt-of-the-earth citizens—is the heart and soul of this dramatic and inspiring story. ... The pages crackle and vibrate with the voices of unsung heroes who drove, flew, rode buses and trains, hitchhiked, even walked long distances to be there in the Great Emancipator's stone shadow as Dr. King spun out his immortal 'Dream.'”
—John Egerton
Author, Speak Now Against the Day: The Generation Before the Civil Rights Movement in the South
"On August 28, 1963, a quarter of a million people converged on the nation’s capital for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Martin Luther King, whose 'I Have a Dream' speech highlighted the occasion, called it 'the greatest demonstration for freedom in the nation’s history.' Euchner (The Last Nine Innings) presents “a pointillist portrait” of the occasion, drawing material from historical records and taking oral histories from more than 100 participants. Although 1963 was the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, racial segregation remained deeply entrenched in the nation’s South, and one specific, practical goal of the march was to desegregate restaurants and hotels. The Kennedy administration mobilized extensive military and police resources, but march leaders, including principal organizer Bayard Rustin and longtime civil rights activist Asa Philip Randolph, were confident (and accurate) in their belief that a peaceful mass demonstration of this scale was not only possible but could change the course of race relations in America. With deft brushstrokes, Euchner not only captures the myriad dimensions of the march itself but places it in its larger historical context, including the escalating war in Vietnam."
—Publishers Weekly
"Euchner tells the story of the August 1963 March on Washington as the compelling drama it was: organizing 100,000 people for civil rights required coordinating speakers with multiple alliances and agendas within one peaceful mass-action event. Enter lead organizer Bayard Taylor Rustin, portrayed as the hero who brought together the march through unprecedented planning and coordination. Rustin's challenge rested in keeping the 
alliances of numerous organizations together. He worked to temper the speech of John Lewis, a representative from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, whose message "became more radical as it faced an unflinching deep southern segregationist challenge to its organizing efforts. Malcolm X was also on hand during the march. As a "people's history," the book's sources include Euchner's interviews with over 100 individuals, both known and unknown, who participated in the march. Verdict: This compelling history of the march on Washington is accessible to general readers, who will be moved at the emotional heights of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech. Those who enjoy popular history will find much to like here, and students will appreciate the original research."
—Jon Hahn, Library Journal
“On the Mall in Washington, on a beautiful but blazing hot day in August 1963, an outpouring of thousands gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The people who were speaking were Christians and Jews and labor and civil rights leaders, black and white together. The message to the administration and the American people was that the problem wasn't limited to lunch counters or integrated schools. The March on Washington was a demand to make the Constitution of the United States work for black people—to cash the blank check as Dr. King put it that day in the best speech of his life. Nobody Turn Me Around—Charles Euchner's superb book—brings it all back in vivid detail.”
—Roger Wilkins, author of Jefferson's Pillow: The Founding Fathers and the Dilemma of Black PatriotismNobody Turn Me Around brings important new insight to the story of the 1963 March on Washington. We see the Harlem Unity Rally; Malcolm X's bitter answer to the historic events in D.C.; the escalating violence in the South and the movement's expansion to northern cities; and the genius of Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin's organizing strategies. The book also settles the question of how Martin Luther King, Jr. came to utter his iconic words about the dream—and shows how King used the speech to arouse his followers and neutralize the extremes of white racism and black separatism. Vivid storytelling at its best."
—Alex Heard
Author, The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crow South
