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A review by bluejayreads
The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley, Malcolm X
5.0
I didn't really know anything about Malcolm X besides his name and something along the lines of "he was like Dr. King but violent" that I learned in ... middle school, maybe? This book is a fascinating look at his life, from his childhood in Lansing, Michigan to hustling drugs and committing robberies in New York and Boston to his arrest, conversion to Islam, and subsequent fame as he tried to grow Elijah Muhammed's Islam in America, and how his pilgrimage to Mecca changed his philosophy of race relations. It showed how his thoughts and his solutions to the problem of racism morphed and the actions he took to actually try and solve the problem.
This book isn't divided into parts, but to me, there's three main "parts" of it: Before his conversion, his time in the Nation of Islam, and after the Nation of Islam.
The part before his conversion, for me, anyway, functioned as an almost voyeuristic look at black manhood during the early 1940s - a world I'd never heard about or even really considered.
His time during the Nation of Islam showed me why nobody talked about him in history class. Nation of Islam, the sect (although it was throwing off some really culty vibes for me) of Islam started by Elijah Muhammed, had him preaching that white people were literally the devil and the only way to eliminate racism was for black people to separate completely from white people. He made a lot of white people mad, and I completely understand why. Some of the things he said even rubbed me the wrong way.
(As someone super interested in religions, I also found the in-depth look at the Nation of Islam and their beliefs fascinating.)
Are spoilers a thing in autobiographies? Well, I won't say why, but he parted ways with the Nation of Islam and went on a pilgrimage to Mecca and then traveled through Africa. He came back with a slightly kinder approach to race relations - one that I agree with a lot more, although as a white person, I don't think my agreement means it's the best approach.
The book finishes with an epilogue of sorts by the writer, who talks about the process of writing the book and also Malcolm X's death.
This whole book is excellently written and reads like one big story about a great man. Malcolm X was an extraordinary man with extraordinary energy. He wanted what was best for black people, and he was willing to put all of his time and energy into that cause. Whether or not you agree with his ideas, he's definitely a man worth admiring, and I'm glad for the opportunity to read about him in his own story.
This book isn't divided into parts, but to me, there's three main "parts" of it: Before his conversion, his time in the Nation of Islam, and after the Nation of Islam.
The part before his conversion, for me, anyway, functioned as an almost voyeuristic look at black manhood during the early 1940s - a world I'd never heard about or even really considered.
His time during the Nation of Islam showed me why nobody talked about him in history class. Nation of Islam, the sect (although it was throwing off some really culty vibes for me) of Islam started by Elijah Muhammed, had him preaching that white people were literally the devil and the only way to eliminate racism was for black people to separate completely from white people. He made a lot of white people mad, and I completely understand why. Some of the things he said even rubbed me the wrong way.
(As someone super interested in religions, I also found the in-depth look at the Nation of Islam and their beliefs fascinating.)
Are spoilers a thing in autobiographies? Well, I won't say why, but he parted ways with the Nation of Islam and went on a pilgrimage to Mecca and then traveled through Africa. He came back with a slightly kinder approach to race relations - one that I agree with a lot more, although as a white person, I don't think my agreement means it's the best approach.
The book finishes with an epilogue of sorts by the writer, who talks about the process of writing the book and also Malcolm X's death.
This whole book is excellently written and reads like one big story about a great man. Malcolm X was an extraordinary man with extraordinary energy. He wanted what was best for black people, and he was willing to put all of his time and energy into that cause. Whether or not you agree with his ideas, he's definitely a man worth admiring, and I'm glad for the opportunity to read about him in his own story.