Alex Haley & Malcolm X's the Autobiography of Malcolm X (Bloom's Notes)

Rating:
Summary: Great American biography
Review: This book should be required reading in high school. Just a terrific story following the life of Malcom X. You can also see the movie Spike Lee made that is based on Malcom X's life, but the book will give you a much fuller picture - it's hard to capture a whole life in 2 hours on the screen.

The best part of this book is the progression that Malcom X shows - from being a hoodlum in NY to prison to the Nation of Islam and on to Mecca - it is not only a geographical sequence, but a tremendous personal growth sequence. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in American history.

Rating:
Summary: INCREDIBLE!
Review: Whether you agree with his rhetoric or not, Malcolm X is a man that stood by his principles to the day he was assassinated. This is an inspiring autobiography detailing the life of one of last Century's greatest men.

Read with caution, this book will make you mad but then you will have the determination to make a change.


Rating:
Summary: The greatest autobiography I have ever read
Review: In this uncompromising and surging autobiography, Malcolm X, one of the most fascinating and charismatic African Americans of the twentieth century, tells the story of his tumultuous life. He recounts how, from his horrific childhood through to his numerous robberies that eventually landed him in jail, he found solace in Islam which led him to become the prominent speaker of one of the most controversial groups of its time - The Black Muslims.

I read this along with Martin Luther King's autobiography (which anybody who wants to get a true understanding of the two conflicting black philosophies of the time should do), and while I was more in agreement with King's method and message, I found Malcolm X a much more interesting and charismatic personality, and his autobiography more enjoyable. What makes him even more interesting is the way his views altered toward the end of his life and leaned more toward King's.

The book is an easy read and the pages seem to fly by. The book finishes just a few months before his assassination, so unlike most autobiographies, Malcolm X's continues right up until the end of his life.


Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: This book is a great book by a great man, and is a haunting reminder of the African-American experience in particular, and the Black experience in general.

I highly recommend "Retake Your Fame," by Aylmer von Fleischer as well as "The Destruction of Black Civilization," by Chancellor.

These books helps us understand the height from which Blacks have fallen and the reason why.



Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!!! Enlightening!!! Uplifting!!! A True Classic!!!
Review: The Autobiography of Malcolm X remains the cornerstone for most libraries in African-American homes. Haley's brilliant conveyance of the details of Malcolm's life is a true work of art. The reader travels back into Malcolm's past, exploring his family history and his earliest views of life and society as a whole. Step by step we are exposed to the experiences that would serve as the foundation to the brilliance that would personify in this great leader. This book has elevated the consciousness of many Black people, not only in the U.S., but also around the world. Additionally, reading such literature will enable caucasian people to better understand Malcolm X and easily conclude that his message was not of hate, but of self-improvement, self-pride and self-motivation, as well as anti-oppression, anti-degradation and anti-exploitation. Malcolm X remains an icon within the Black community, and this book plays a large part in that reverence. I cannot recommend it higher! Finally, I suggest reading Andrew Claude Clegg's "The Original Man" along with The Autobiography of Malcolm X. It will grant further insight into his relationship with Elijah Muhammad and some of the inner-workings of the Nation of Islam.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books of all-time
Review: This is a must-read for everyone (black or white) 'cuz it changed my life completely since I seen the movie, watch documentaries about him and then learn more about him.

As you know, Malcolm X is one of my heroes of all-time even though he had a powerful message since Martin Luther King did "I Have A Dream" speech is 1963. This is sumthin u shouldn't hate about or u think is racist enuff or sumthin. I don't call it by that. I call a more mature book that has the basic details that what's going in our community and the culture we live in today.

Many of us who are sacrificing and showing mercy among ourselves to this book or the man behind himself must read this book. This is really a study guide to talk about our community. Spike Lee does a good job on this movie he did from the book. And I thank God he'll live and learn 2 this day.

R.I.P. Malcolm X your legacy lives on between us.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME BOOK!
Review: I needn't go on and on about what a great book this is. It simply is.

From the moment I layed eyes on the introduction, I was immediately sucked in and wanted to know more about this great man and his contributions to the civil rights movement. Malcolm X is an individual they mention in public schools, but fail to expound upon given his so-called violent attitude while serving the Nation of Islam. This is a crime, ladies and gentlemen!

This book also inspired me to pursue other great works of African-American literature. So I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to be set on the path.

Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Autobiography of Malcolm X Review
Review: Before I read this book, I thought it was going to be as good as everyone who'd read it told me it would be. To be honest, after reading, I was somewhat dissapointed. It was an excellent book, no question. But it carried on and there were repetative parts and very boring parts, expescially the epilouge. When I got to the end of the last chapter, I wanted to be finished reading. But I had to slog through the boring epilouge, which was mostly just what the author felt about writing the book. You'd think this would be interesting. But no. It was very boring. I read to the end, but it was tedious reading that I think I could have gone without.
However, despite the boring parts, Malcolm X was an inspiring book. It opened my eyes to his world, and let me understand his side of the story. Even though I didn't grow up in the times when racism was such a huge issue, it is still a fairly big problem in the time I am growing up in, and the book helped me to better understand how the African-American people felt about racism.
At first I didn't agree when Malcolm X was completely and utterly against the white man, and thought they were all devils. But then when he went to Mecca and his entire life turned around and he learned that color does NOT make the person, the actions make the person, that was a real eye-opener for him, and me. I mean, I usually don't catagorize races into sterotypes, but here in America, there is still a huge race problem. We make and see sterotypes everyday, and they arn't true. In most other countries, race goes unnoticed. There is no race problem. No matter color of your skin, everyone is united under one God. Religion basically solves the race issue, but that's not always the best way for things to work, because there are also religious conflicts.
Overall, the novel was extreamly inspiring and very good, it made me think and see in a whole new light, and really opened my eyes to the often unheard side of the race issue. At times it even made me hate myself, even though I know that I am not racist. It made me look at America, as I always have, in a disgusted way, thinking, "Why are we one of the few countries where race has to become an issue?" Why do we create these stereotypes? Basically, I think, "Why do I have to live in a country where there are so many horrible problems that shouldn't matter in the first place?"
I definitely reccomend that you read at least half of this book before you die. At times it gets extreamly boring, but at other times it is riveting and you just want to keep reading, until you come to another boring part. You will not regret reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

Rating:
Summary: Olympia of the Malcolmius!
Review: Thoroughly readable account of life of Malcolm X, as told by his close friend Bill Cosby. This is one of the most enjoyable reads I've ever had the pleasure to have. So much of it is quotable. It really gives you the history for a long time. Malcolm did acid in a park with his aunty and her friend and they later had relations, is the the part that has be given the most scrutiny, but forget that indecency and pay attention to the life of a great man that isn't missed enough. Four stars from me.