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raccoongremlin's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
2.5
I found this book a really difficult read. Before reading I was really inspired by Malcolm X, as I knew of him as a really important person in the black liberation movement , and he still is to an extent. But for me I found his blatent Anti-Semitism overpowering. For me X's hatred of Jewish people can't just be put down to ignorence, he talks about world 'Jewry' and even believes in the elders of zion protocol. For me that coupled with X's mysogny really put me off the him entirely.
He was a really interesting person and it was inpsireing to see how his views changed and evolved. He also constantly bashes MLK and non-violence which is interesting and also pretty sad.
He was a really interesting person and it was inpsireing to see how his views changed and evolved. He also constantly bashes MLK and non-violence which is interesting and also pretty sad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction and Antisemitism
Moderate: Confinement and Misogyny
Minor: Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
vumalilli's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
4.0
"And if I can die having brought any light, having exposed any meaningful truth that will help to destroy the racist cancer that is malignant in the body of America—then, all of the credit is due to Allah. Only the mistakes have been mine."- Malcolm X
I love this book, and I love that I got to hear it and read it. Malcolm X had a surprising life story with so many moments of growth and maturity. So much conviction and passion to morph into one of the greatest speakers and fighters for freedom and justice. It was amazing to read him grow into the person he was until that fateful day in 1965. Laurence Fishburne is also the best audiobook narrator I've experienced. You would think Malcom X recorded this before he was killed.
The most enthralling part of his story, to me (other than the palpable growth and wisdom), was his early years learning about his parents an his boyhood experiences. I really don't read enough about the northern experience for Black Americans pre-1970s.
I also credit this man for being part of my journey away from Christianity. In tandem with James Baldwin and Audre Lorde - their assessments of white institutions and the unbelonging of Black people within these spaces has spoken to me. His searing insight on the passivity of the religion is 10/10!
The deduction in my review was influenced by X's lack of intersectionality in his fight for racial justice, particularly for Black women and the way he spoke towards his wife. I don't believe Betty Shabazz or his amazing daughters ever raised an issue with him on on this, however, I felt like he put his own needs before that of his wife and daughters pretty often. His pilgrimage to Mecca humbled him in the necessary ways, but how do you do that when you have a wife and children at home?
More so, he mentions racism from the POV of a Black man who needed to ask Black women about their experiences and never did (in America or in his travels throughout Nigeria, Ghana and Mecca). His wife kept his legacy going and he never gave her enough credit to her passion, convictions and experiences.
Otherwise, really did enjoy this!
The most enthralling part of his story, to me (other than the palpable growth and wisdom), was his early years learning about his parents an his boyhood experiences. I really don't read enough about the northern experience for Black Americans pre-1970s.
I also credit this man for being part of my journey away from Christianity. In tandem with James Baldwin and Audre Lorde - their assessments of white institutions and the unbelonging of Black people within these spaces has spoken to me. His searing insight on the passivity of the religion is 10/10!
The deduction in my review was influenced by X's lack of intersectionality in his fight for racial justice, particularly for Black women and the way he spoke towards his wife. I don't believe Betty Shabazz or his amazing daughters ever raised an issue with him on on this, however, I felt like he put his own needs before that of his wife and daughters pretty often. His pilgrimage to Mecca humbled him in the necessary ways, but how do you do that when you have a wife and children at home?
More so, he mentions racism from the POV of a Black man who needed to ask Black women about their experiences and never did (in America or in his travels throughout Nigeria, Ghana and Mecca). His wife kept his legacy going and he never gave her enough credit to her passion, convictions and experiences.
Otherwise, really did enjoy this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Racism
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Slavery and Forced institutionalization
applesaucecreachur's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.75
If there was ever an electric revolutionary, it was Malcolm X. In this autobiography, he and Alex Haley have compiled his life into a riveting story. Having grown from a wounded and mischievous young boy to a prolific hustler (and lindy-hopper), to a scholar in lockup, to one of the most skilled orators and well-known revolutionaries of his time, Malcolm was no stranger to transformation. Through the foreword by his daughter Attallah, the Epilogue by Alex Hayley, and a gripping note by Ossie Davis, his story continues beyond 1965 and the Audubon Ballroom. The reader gets to glimpse not only how Malcolm's legacy began to unfold in the months following his death, but also how the man was behind the scenes with those who knew him personally.
Similar to my review of Revolutionary Suicide, I cannot give this autobiography a full five stars for its omission of Black women as co-victims of racism and equally vital conspirators in Black liberation. Of course, Malcolm was a product both of his time and his Muslim faith, the latter of which I particularly cannot speak to. And despite his sometimes-derogatory references to women as a group, he held individual women in high regard – namely his mother, his half-sister Ella, and his wife, Betty Shabazz. I know from other accounts, too, that his view of gender was undergoing its own transformation towards the end of his life. It's a shame that this was not more prominent in his autobiography.
Malcolm X was as complex as he was (and still is) misunderstood. In the wake of what would have been his 99th birthday, and the wake of Betty's 90th or 88th, I have to wonder what these two and their loved ones would make of the world they've left to us.
Similar to my review of Revolutionary Suicide, I cannot give this autobiography a full five stars for its omission of Black women as co-victims of racism and equally vital conspirators in Black liberation. Of course, Malcolm was a product both of his time and his Muslim faith, the latter of which I particularly cannot speak to. And despite his sometimes-derogatory references to women as a group, he held individual women in high regard – namely his mother, his half-sister Ella, and his wife, Betty Shabazz. I know from other accounts, too, that his view of gender was undergoing its own transformation towards the end of his life. It's a shame that this was not more prominent in his autobiography.
Malcolm X was as complex as he was (and still is) misunderstood. In the wake of what would have been his 99th birthday, and the wake of Betty's 90th or 88th, I have to wonder what these two and their loved ones would make of the world they've left to us.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement
ceci_cc's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
Insightful and extremely relevant even still today
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Murder, and Colonisation
bambicat234's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
I can not recommend this book enough. Everyone should read it. It's unique in being told from two perspectives: the perspective of the man himself and the perspectives of the men who got to know him well. You can personally observe his moral, religious, and political transformations throughout his life and especially at the end of it.
Everything he says here is relevant today in some way or another.
Everything he says here is relevant today in some way or another.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness, Racism, and Antisemitism
sagelikesscats's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
What a easy 5 stars. Informative, relevant, and inspiring. Read this book!!! This book will teach you about racism, classism, radical organizing, and a little bit about Islam. This book has its flaws and Malcom X was pretty misogynistic and antisemitic but still a must for all those who want to learn about racism and activism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence, Police brutality, and Antisemitism
Minor: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Grief, and Lesbophobia
lauren_shilling's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Alcohol
Moderate: Hate crime and Misogyny
asen123's review against another edition
I might finish it when I’m a bit older. I really wanted to like it, but it was too intense for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Classism
jourdanicus's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
I wanted to read this as a foundation text for my personal study in race and anti-racism in the US. It definitely fulfilled that for me. Much of what Malcolm X observed is still relevant today, I find. He was a very interesting and important figure in the civil rights era, and I feel that his time on Earth was cut much, much too short.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, and Racism
menomica's review against another edition
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
What I am trying to say is that it just never dawned upon them that I could understand, that I wasn’t a pet, but a human being. They didn’t give me credit for having the same sensitivity, intellect, and understanding that they would have been ready and willing to recognize in a white boy in my position. But it has historically been the case with white people, in their regard for black people, that even though we might be with them, we weren’t considered of them. Even though they appeared to have opened the door, it was still closed. Thus they never did really see me.
This book was. Dense. And a lot. But it did what it was supposed to do. Give an insight on the mind of Malcom X. Honestly, he’s pretty cool, when he’s not talking about women, or jewish people (dear god was that man antisemitic).
I also really loved how the book helped to give insight on the ideals of race and civil rights at the time. Seeing how multiple civil rights movements worked together and also how they disagreed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Violence
Minor: Gun violence and War