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roulan's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent look at the complicated life of a complicated man. The author does a particularly good job contextualizing Malcolm X's the greater world of the 20th century struggle for civil rights. Well worth the read.
erickibler4's review against another edition
5.0
I found myself talking back to Malcolm X a lot in this book.
Malcolm X achieved fame as a Minister in the Nation of Islam, which is not to be confused with the orthodox or mainstream version of that religion. Rather, it was a Black separatist religion that included a mythology called "Yacub's History", in which an evil black scientist named Yacub was supposed to have created the white man "the Devil" as sort of a lab experiment. After serving a few years in prison in the early fifties and converting to the NoI while incarcerated, Malcolm Little, or Malcolm X, as he later came to be known, became a minister in the faith and preached this hateful doctrine for about ten years.
Malcolm made his first journey to the Middle East in 1959 and saw how orthodox Islam was practiced and by whom (all races, including whites). In Spike Lee's film, it was presented that it was this first trip that converted Malcolm away from his hateful views, toward a message of tolerance. I was disappointed to read in this book that that wasn't strictly true. It wasn't until his third trip to the Middle East, in 1964, that Malcolm dropped the hate rhetoric.
He was eventually shunned by the NoI and marked for death, as many heretics of that faith were. In Malcolm's case, he earned an especial vehemence of hatred from the NoI because he exposed the adultery of its leader, Elijah Mohammed. He was killed by NoI members, perhaps with the aid of federal and local authorities, depending on who you believe. Current NoI offshoot leader Louis Farrakhan, originally a friend and protege of Malcolm's was one of the voices calling for his death.
I guess I feel more respect than admiration for the man. To my mind, he preached hate for far too long, and didn't turn it around into positive action until much too late. I understand that the time of his dying was not of his own choosing, but there were so many wasted years there.
Loved the book though. It presented me with a character with whom I disagreed, and with who I carried on hours of spirited debate in my mind before I closed the covers.
Malcolm X achieved fame as a Minister in the Nation of Islam, which is not to be confused with the orthodox or mainstream version of that religion. Rather, it was a Black separatist religion that included a mythology called "Yacub's History", in which an evil black scientist named Yacub was supposed to have created the white man "the Devil" as sort of a lab experiment. After serving a few years in prison in the early fifties and converting to the NoI while incarcerated, Malcolm Little, or Malcolm X, as he later came to be known, became a minister in the faith and preached this hateful doctrine for about ten years.
Malcolm made his first journey to the Middle East in 1959 and saw how orthodox Islam was practiced and by whom (all races, including whites). In Spike Lee's film, it was presented that it was this first trip that converted Malcolm away from his hateful views, toward a message of tolerance. I was disappointed to read in this book that that wasn't strictly true. It wasn't until his third trip to the Middle East, in 1964, that Malcolm dropped the hate rhetoric.
He was eventually shunned by the NoI and marked for death, as many heretics of that faith were. In Malcolm's case, he earned an especial vehemence of hatred from the NoI because he exposed the adultery of its leader, Elijah Mohammed. He was killed by NoI members, perhaps with the aid of federal and local authorities, depending on who you believe. Current NoI offshoot leader Louis Farrakhan, originally a friend and protege of Malcolm's was one of the voices calling for his death.
I guess I feel more respect than admiration for the man. To my mind, he preached hate for far too long, and didn't turn it around into positive action until much too late. I understand that the time of his dying was not of his own choosing, but there were so many wasted years there.
Loved the book though. It presented me with a character with whom I disagreed, and with who I carried on hours of spirited debate in my mind before I closed the covers.
washed_guapi_lee's review against another edition
5.0
An indelible and indispensable work of biography, history, theory, and cultural studies. A titan of intellectual work or a titan of resistance and courage for the Black Radical Left
musicsaves's review against another edition
5.0
FIRST LINE REVIEW: "In the early years of the last century, the neighborhood just north of Harlem, later to be named Washington Heights, was a sparsely settled suburb." And as this suburb reinvented itself over the years, Malcolm X did the very same. This richly researched, highly detailed biography presents a fascinating portrait of the man who is usually characterized with a lack of depth and detail...an icon that stands for just one thing...when there is so much more to him than most people realize. And what I appreciated best was his ability to change his mind, to evolve, to become something more than who he first thought he was. Ultimately, to reinvent himself by using the knowledge and experience that an aware human being should bring into molding this earthly clay.
srjennings's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
A thorough deep look at the life of Malcolm x. I didn't know much about him and now feel well informed about who he was, his historically importance, and what is still valuable to learn from him today.
I do wish there had been more about what he taught as he moved away from the NOI. There was some, but the focus was largely on the events in his life, not as much on his teachings and philosophy.
The audiobook narrator was good.
I do wish there had been more about what he taught as he moved away from the NOI. There was some, but the focus was largely on the events in his life, not as much on his teachings and philosophy.
The audiobook narrator was good.
marcymurli's review against another edition
3.0
I think the book is quite interesting, although not because of Marable's skill as a biographer. I enjoyed the second half of the book far more than the first half, but mostly this is because Marable describes Malcolm X's travels throughout Africa and the Arab world and the ways it transformed his thinking about imperialism as a global struggle. What would really be an amazing book would be a collection of X's travel diaries from this period, which are quoted in the biography but not to the extent I'd like. Marable inserts himself too much into the biography, something that is particularly disturbing in the epilogue when he describes the impact X has had on the world. He conjectures odd ideas that he attributes to X and focuses on random and odd aspects of his significance (e.g., al Qa'eda). I would have much preferred a meaningful exploration of the way his ideas affected Stokley Carmichael and the Black Panther Party. I'm a bit surprised by these strange political remarks by Marable as other books I've read by him seem far more radical and astute than this one. But it is worth reading the biography for the glimpses into how X evolved as a thinker and an activist over the course of his far too brief life.
kittycat2302's review against another edition
5.0
Even though reading this took me much longer than I would have liked, it was extraordinarily well done, and taught me so much about Malcolm X. I never knew much about him, and was co fused about what I thought I knew. A complicated man, for certain, and a man of great power and passion. I'm grateful to know so much more now.
thejoshdenk's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.25