Just finished reading this wonderful book and it definitely gave me perspective about his life and of African Americans in general.
I should have read this much sooner but still glad I got to read it anyhow. If this book is taught in American schools right now then that would definitely be doing some justice to this great man.
by thatguyfromkarachi
10 Comments
I agree. I read this in high school in the 1980’s and it left a lasting impression on me. It was required reading for my suburban Houston area public school. Unfortunately, Texas has changed since then and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not required reading now but it absolutely should be.
The most important book I’ve ever read in my life. Brother Malcolm is one of the greatest Amerikans to ever live. If you wanna read more books in theme with black liberation, I suggest Revolutionary Suicide by Huey Newton and Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis
Stunning book. Changed my life. Made me go way farther left in my politics.
I know this question is an entire debate by itself but I’m curious to know that after his autobiography was released, did it have any impact on American society? Did people see him for who he was or what he was trying to do for African Americans when he was no longer around.
Sadly, I didn’t have this as required reading in school, probably because of it being almost 500 pages. Safer to go with shorter books to keep students’ focus better and actually have them read it instead of sparknotes. But I’ll add it to my list. It’s also near the top of most best nonfiction book lists along with the education of Henry Adams.
Yeah I remember rushing through to read this in the last week of summer. I’m glad I did. What a fascinating guy.
An important book! A must read.
Since you liked this book, I highly recommend you next checkout Manning Marable’s book titled “Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention.”
Although Malcolm’s book is called an “Autobiography,” it was really written by Alex Haley. Malcolm participated in interviews and oversaw and edited the writing of many of the earlier chapters, but he was assassinated before the book was finished. Haley then finished the book on his own—and Haley’s politics were a lot different than Malcolm’s. Many historians say that Haley heavily edited Malcolm’s views at the end to align more with his own, and that it overall doesn’t really reflect the end of Malcolm’s life very well. Marable’s book does a much better job covering many aspects of Malcolm’s life, especially the end. He also critiques some earlier parts that Malcom did have a hand in—which makes sense because many people would edit themselves to make them look a little better than reality.
I think this second book is critical to better understanding who Malcolm is and what his place was in history. To be sure, he’s still an absolutely critical person at a very important intersection of American history, but his story is more nuanced than depicted in the autobiography.
Read it in high school and it changed my life.
I haven’t read but I listened to the Pulitzer winning biography from a couple of years ago, and the author pointed out a lot of things that Malcolm left out of his auto. I went in knowing next to nothing about the guy, and came out with an unfavorable opinion. I believe his greatest faults were in his younger years, though, and I do respect his leaving the Islamic brotherhood because of hypocritical leadership and a desire to do what was right according to his religion.
The main thing that broke my heart was learning that he and his brother would wait by the mailbox for their older brother’s assistance check that he would send to their single mother each month. They’d intercept it and blow the cash while their mother and little siblings were starving. That, and his mistreatment of his girlfriends.
Always gotta take autobiographies with a few grains of salt I think.