the autobiography of malcolm x book review

These comments disturbed me a bit, but did not overall take away from the book.

The comments and generalizations about women were off-putting, but prevalent among all male public figures at the time. The book was dictated in 1964 to Alex Haley and this is a timecapsule to the era. The world missed out, not getting to experience his leadership after that critical turning point in his life. I was amazed to read his words as he reversed course from much of his earlier rhetoric. The transformation Malcolm underwent during his Hajj was complete. His pilgrimage to Mecca is when the book catches fire. The style issues aside, the book came to life as Malcolm describes his conversion to Islam and his years with The Nation of Islam. It was interesting, but not compelling from a literary perspective. The writing style in this section is simple prose, often written in a passive voice. The first half of the book is full of rich details of Malcolm’s upbringing: his precarious childhood, stint in foster care and juvenile reform school, his Lindy Hopping days in Roxbury and Harlem, his never-ending hustle, and his imprisonment. So many of the sound bites and blurbs propagated about Malcolm X totally miss the man he was when he was assassinated. I wonder at Malcolm’s potential accomplishments and legacy if he had lived a long and full life. My main thought as I finished it was that the world lost a brilliant man too soon. The Autobiography of Malcolm X has been on my To-Read list for years, but I finally picked it up and read it.

The autobiography of malcolm x book review