Editorial Reviews
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Malcolm X's searing memoir
belongs on the small shelf of great autobiographies. The reasons are many:
the blistering honesty with which he recounts his transformation from a
bitter, self-destructive petty criminal into an articulate political
activist, the continued relevance of his militant analysis of white racism,
and his emphasis on self-respect and self-help for African Americans. And
there's the vividness with which he depicts black popular culture--try as he
might to criticize those lindy hops at Boston's Roseland dance hall from the
perspective of his Muslim faith, he can't help but make them sound pretty
wonderful. These are but a few examples. The Autobiography of Malcolm X
limns an archetypal journey from ignorance and despair to knowledge and
spiritual awakening. When Malcolm tells coauthor Alex Haley, "People don't
realize how a man's whole life can be changed by one book," he voices the
central belief underpinning every attempt to set down a personal story as an
example for others. Although many believe his ethic was directly opposed to
Martin Luther King Jr.'s during the civil rights struggle of the '60s, the
two were not so different. Malcolm may have displayed a most un-Christian
distaste for loving his enemies, but he understood with King that love of
God and love of self are the necessary first steps on the road to freedom.
--Wendy Smith
New York Times Book Review, Robert Boone
It behooves us to read, and
even reread Malcolm's book, and especially the last five chapters, which
describe the transformation that took place in his mind and heart after his
break with Elijah Muhammad and the Black Muslims.
From AudioFile
Joe Morton successfully
captures the essence of Malcolm X by presenting the text straight from the
hip. In the opening, he speaks bitterly about the murderous bigotry Malcolm
experiences as a child. With a slick, fast-talking voice Morton portrays
Malcolm's life as a young hustler then shifts his tone to one of powerful
conviction when recounting Malcolm's conversion to the Black Muslim faith
and his realization of his vocation. Roscoe Lee Browne's solemn, resonant
narration connects Morton's dramatization to an objective chronicle of
significant events in the leader's life and gently bridges the text. The
result proves an intriguing program. M.P.T. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Book Description
If there was any one man who
articulated the anger, the struggle, and the beliefs of African Americans in
the 1960s, that man was Malxolm X. His AUTOBIOGRAPHY is now an established
classic of modern America, a book that expresses like none other the crucial
truth about our times.
"Extraordinary. A brilliant, painful, important book."
THE NEW YORK TIMES
The Merriam-Webster
Encyclopedia of Literature
Biography, published in 1965,
of the American black militant religious leader and activist who was born
Malcolm Little. Written by Alex Haley, who had conducted extensive audio
taped interviews with Malcolm X just before his assassination in 1965, the
book gained renown as a classic work on black American experience. The
Autobiography recounts the life of Malcolm X from his traumatic childhood
plagued by racism to his years as a drug dealer and pimp, his conversion to
the Black Muslim sect (Nation of Islam) while in prison for burglary, his
subsequent years of militant activism, and the turn late in his life to more
orthodox Islam.
Synopsis
The Black leader discusses his
political philosophy and reveals details of his life, shedding light on the
ideas that enabled him to gain the allegiance of a still growing percentage
of the Black population.
Ingram
An autobiography of the Black
Muslim leader Malcolm X.
From the Publisher
We all know that The
Autobiography of Malcolm X is a modern classic. Time Magazine's recent
naming of it as One of the Top Ten Works of Nonfiction for this century,
confirms that the book is a must have for every home library.
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