Autobiography of Malcolm X

A powerful and eye-opening read. Malcolm X’s story is told with honesty, intensity, and clarity, and it really makes you think about history, justice, and personal transformation. The book gives you a strong sense of his character, struggles, and the experiences that shaped his beliefs.It’s thought-provoking, moving, and inspiring, and the narrative keeps you engaged throughout. Essential reading for anyone interested in civil rights, history, or personal growth.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X captured my attention and interest right away from the first page and held tight throughout the remainder. The depiction of the Klansmen at the beginning of chapter one started the book off on a serious note that laid the foundation for Malcolm's life. Being a teenager, the first handful of chapters was understandably the most entertaining to read. From them, I drew out the learning processes, the experiences, and the obstacles that Malcolm inevitably had to overcome in his transition from childhood to early adulthood. I then stocked them deep within to facilitate my own maturity process. From these chapters, I acquired a greater understanding of the Afro-American way of life and a better-informed picture of American society from a teenager's perspective. These chapters engendered excitement, suspense, and a great deal of reality and truth in Malcolm's encounters with guns, drugs, and prostitution. They were presented in a very straightforward way, and were not marred with many unbelievable ridiculous exaggerations. Every word was to be believed, every word could have been believed, and everything should have been believed.The book's primary motif of race relations cast its shadow upon every paragraph, and gradually became more involved in Malcolm's life as he proceeded into adulthood. In the middle portion of the book, Malcolm took a dramatic fall as he dropped to the lowest state of society in prison. Faced with a fork in the road, Malcolm strived for the best as he painfully resumed his education. The middle chapters were the most inspiring to read for me as a student. I certainly could relate to the processes of learning how to read and write, but never the way Malcolm went about accomplishing them. Simply put, he did it the hard way. Starting with the first page of a dictionary and blindly copying, Malcolm regained the properties of letters and words. His better-educated vocabulary led to the comprehension of ideas through words. Then books were read to facilitate the process. This snowball effect opened Malcolm's mind and understanding to the real race issue. Through this newly gained knowledge, he finally was able to understand why different people acted the way they did as well as how they went about doing so.The last portion of the book was to me the most educational. I was for the first time introduced to Islam, a religion I was not familiar with. I also learned that with fame came sacrifices, the loss of a private life, and great jealousy. I truly believed Malcolm when he said that he believed in The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the spiritual leader of The Nation of Islam, more than he believed in himself. From that point on, the world was now seen and described through the eyes of a mature adult. I read with bewilderment as Malcolm depicted his every step in building up the Nation of Islam into a life saving organization for the Black masses in American. I shared his joy when he made the pilgrimage to Mecca and made acquaintances with world leaders and people of importance. I believed he made the best judgment of his life when he reshaped his beliefs in racial status and racial discrimination. As I neared the end of Malcolm's life, he was in the unimaginable position of facing his inevitable violent death. Great fame coupled by his celebrity status had caused tremendous hate and jealousy in the organization. The last couple of chapters really taught me something about human nature. Imagine going to sleep at night while knowing the names of the assailants hired to kill you! Furthermore, imagine if they were the same faithful students you preached to get them back on their feet in society! It was almost inconceivable. Malcolm nevertheless spent his numbered days preaching and speaking to the Afro-American population, and spreading Black pride to every corner of the world. He was brutally murdered February 21, 1965 at three o'clock in the afternoon while making his last speech in New York, with his family present. As a reader I was downhearted, but at the same time relieved that he died fighting for his people and their human rights.I feel this has been the single most influential literary piece of work I have ever encountered.

Fantastic book well written and very enlightening highly recommend

I am not someone who usually reads autobiographies as i find most of them not even worth reading, as people only make them to get extra money from it, so called celebrities like Peter Andre, Joey Essex etc, none of which I have read i'm just making a point! But this book was something else, now i'm only 18 years old so i knew little of Malcolm X and what i did know was negative reports from the media most of which was manipulated propaganda and I also knew him through from Muhammad Ali! But this book was defiantly an eye opener of someone who turned his life around to stand up for what he believed in. Although i didn't agree with all his views it was still interesting reading them! But he seemed to change his views a little after his trip to Mecca. I also thought that the "Forward" section at the beginning of the book by Gary Younge was equally as impressive as usually I loose interest in these parts in books and skip it. Overall, this has been one of the best books i have ever read and has changed my life and taught me some valuable lessons. What i read will defiantly stay with me through life and it is a book i will certainly read again.

A fascinating story and a valuable account of an important 20th century figure. It shows us a driven, disturbed, dynamic young man of tremendous intelligence and resilience which left me wondering what might have been if he had not been murdered before he reached the peak of his powers.His journey from a (relatively) happy childhood through turbulent adolescence into a man of history is compelling. We learn of the terrible traumas that shaped his life including the break-up of his family following the racist murder of his father and the subsequent (state induced) breakdown of his mother and the belittling career advice he received at school. We follow him through his teen years as a fast living zoot suited novice gangster with his hair suitably “conked” that leads inevitability to jail where he encounters Elijah Muhammad and converts to Islam.His journey in Islam is fascinating; first he is obsessed with Elijah Mohammed’s teachings which he sees as capturing the struggle of the black man in white supremacist 1950s America then, as his relationship with Elijah deteriorates, he has a further development in his thinking while on the Hajj to Mecca where he experiences people sharing a common cause (Islam) regardless of the colour of the skin.It’s a shame the book is not particularly well written. I think Haley let down Malcolm X by not using his skills as an author (evident, of course, in Roots) to provide better focus to what Malcolm X is looking to say. What we get instead, particularly in the polemic sections of the book that dominate the second part of the autobiography, is writing that comes across as streams of consciousness. As such it is, at times, repetitive, lacking in clarity and somewhat stodgy to read. You can imagine Malcolm X, in his interviews with Hayley that form the basis of this book, letting rip. That, of itself, is interesting. But it doesn’t make the best reading!Overall though, I’d put this in the a list of “must read” books for its insight into an important (and fascinating) person at a pivotal time in 20th century American history.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X is an incredible and transformative read. This book offers a raw and powerful insight into Malcolm X’s life, struggles, and evolution. It's thought-provoking and deeply inspirational, showing the complexities of his journey and how he became a pivotal figure in history. A must-read for anyone interested in civil rights, history, or personal growth. Penguin Modern Classics' edition is well-made and includes thoughtful commentary. Highly recommend

A deeply touching and profound book, a life journey which seems so startling in its relevance today for people of all faiths colours and beliefs and to global events. I wanted to get into the words of Malcolm X straight away so skipped the foreward. I think this was the right thing to do, by ending with it you got context yet also a deep level of sadness. An uplifting book with a huge sense of unhappiness constantly in the background as we the reader know what is in store for the narrator.A book for everyone to enjoy and think on and one so relevant today.

One of the most life changing books ever

I'm very pleased of having the privilege to finally finish reading this book of Malcolm X much better than the movie by Gpike Lee. Very Captivating Story.

A very important autobiography of a man who withstood and excelled the tests of our times. A must-read for insight into the histories of America, post-WW2 analyses and into the life of man who remains a source of greatness and inspiration.

Awsome book to read with the bio graphies. Good book to spend time with..............

I have been going through an autobiography/memoir phase for the past couple of years. This is probably the best one I've read so far. Regardless of whether you like Malcolm X or not; whether you're Muslim or not; racist or not; black or white--read it!

The autobiography of Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley, allowed my mental, physical and spiritual access. I met the other side of his histories, I saw his social fights, purpose to enhance black people in the USA, I heard his lectures, as well. This book is incredible!