A Man Called King: The Life and Legacy of King Turpin, Jr. What difference can one life make? Born in 1903 as the son of a wanderer in East Tennessee, King Turpin, Jr.'s childhood was everything but stable. However, an encounter with God's grace instantaneously transformed his life, and for the remainder of his days, faithfulness to the God who had saved him became his highest ambition. This narrative is based on the memories and stories of the people who knew King and is informed by thirty years of research conducted by his grandson, J. Randolph Turpin, Jr. The book contains enlightening descriptions of King's life as a vagrant in the Tennessee River Valley, as a cotton mill worker in Knoxville, as a miner in Kentucky, Arizona and West Virginia, and as a farmer-miner-preacher in the Appalachian mountain region. It is a story filled with amazing incidents of faith in the midst of hardships and dramatic manifestations of God's power in the midst of impossibilities. The story of King Turpin, Jr. demonstrates the significance of a life devoted to God. Although this book was written as a tribute to King Turpin with the intent of inspiring faith in God, it also contains valuable information for researchers exploring Appalachian culture and the history of other East Tennessee Turpins.