Rating: 
Summary: Great book about a great man
Review: Biographies are fascinating works of literature. A good biography is a window into someone's life, as well as what they stood for and who they represented. Malcolm X's Autobiography is no exception. Flawlessly rendered by Alex Haley, it documents the truly amazing life of one of Black America's foremost freedom fighters.Malcolm's intelligence and convictions are apparent through the whole book, from his retrospective look at his childhood years to the present. What is most fascinating about his life are the changes he went through. He started out at the bottom of society, the starving son of a rape-child and a preacher murdered by whites. He went through a brief period at a reform school, then moved to Boston and fell in love with city life. He lived a life of crime in the Harlem streets until he was caught one day, and thrown into prison. There, he studied like a college student and was converted to Islam by his family. He became the Nation of Islam's most devoted speaker, truly believing that the white race was devilish by nature. It was not until after his pilgrimage to Mecca that he realized the possibility of all races living together without conflict. Malcolm X's brutal honesty, talent, and intelligence were complimented by his complete devotion to his cause and his religion. Malcolm was not afraid to reveal the disturbing truths about the hypocritical white "puppeteers" who control many black people, from the educated to those living in the ghetto. His humility and his true hope for American society remains powerful: "I know that societies often have killed the people who have helped to change those societies. And if I can die having brought any light, having exposed any meaningful truth that will help to destroy the racist cancer that is malignant in the body of America-then, all of the credit is due to Allah. Only the mistakes have been mine." He has not died in vain. This book is an essential perspective into the Afro-American struggle for true liberty and justice, which continues through today.
Rating:
Summary: Malcom X very thought-provoking
Review: I had to read this book for English, but for once I actually enjoyed an assigned book! I don't necessarily agree with Mr. X, but his ideas and persuasive methods are fascinating. I think everyone should read this book to gain a new insight on racism and equality. You will never forget his words.
Rating:
Summary: It doesn't get any better than this
Review: "People don't realize how a man's whole life can be changed by one book."
-Malcolm X, as told to Alex Haley How long has it been since I first read this book? How long has it been since I was first introduced to the unlimited power of both the written word and the heart of a man simultaneously? How long has it been since I first fell in love with my father, in a way my mother, his wife, never could have, by seeing the life of the man who taught him just how much love and courage could be contained in his heart, the heart of a man, such that makes his soul dance to the Music that is God? How long has it been since I learned from this book that mythic truth wrapped in history is what fiction hopes to be when it grows up? All I know is that my son is now twelve, and has finished this book for the first time. His first response when I asked him about it was that Malcolm X "is like me!" And there it is. Don't read this book from the point of view of the Civil Rights movement. Don't read it from the point of view of the dance Islam has been having with Christianity since the Hijra almost fifteen hundred years ago and the Crusades in Europe. Don't try to fit this into the perspective of Malcolm's superficially dichotmous relationship with Dr. King as a reflection of that religious dance writ large (especially with what's going on in the world today; this book is bigger than that). Don't read this even from the perspective of the important insights on the Nation of Islam, and how the most ironic portions of Orwell's ANIMAL FARM seem to be the inspiration for the actual events that led to his a) expulsion from the organization, b) his assassination, and c) the rise of Farrakhan. And leave your conspiracy theories about the governments *within* America's government--regardless of how on-point half of them probably are, as shown by history--at the door. ALL of those truths will be self evident in the first hundred-odd pages of this book in one way or another; your soul will get no brownie points from riffing off of themes so obvious, no matter how strong. Read this book the way you would through the eyes of Joseph Campbell...read it the same way you would read the EPIC OF GILGAMESH...or ULYSSES...or THE ODYSSEY...read this book the way you would read the timeless masterpieces of mythology, literature and fiction, like the book of JOB.... Allow the fact that it is all true--happening in the youth of many people's lifetimes walking today--to not even be a part of your consideration as you turn its pages. Whatever you do, regardless of your ethnicity or gender or age, etc., do NOT, repeat, do NOT read it because you "should"-- whatever that means. You "should" only read a book if it is too boring or badly written to be spiritually enjoyed without a sense of duty propping up some inflated sense of its relevance. This book is too beatuful, too well written, too wonderful for such backhanded insults. Read it from your soul's eyes; not your mind's. This is simply one of the most beautiful books ever written, and without a doubt one of the top five autobiographies of all time. Read it, because it IS. God bless El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X)--and Alex Haley. This book is, in every superlative sense of the word, a Classic.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for everyone, Black or White. :)
Review: I read this book for the first time a year ago and I have to say that it was one of the best reads I have ever had. Watching Malcom's strugle from being a poor Black Child removed from his family and placed in foster homes, to Street Hustler, to convict, to a religious man, to a racist, then into a human being that was honest enough to admit that his views had been wrong, is amazing. Malcom's story of realizing what his true religion was in the Brotherhood of man, and his intesity in helping Afro Amercians gain a new vision in personal pride is exceptional. Malcom should be a hero to everyone, not just Afro Americans. I found his story particularly enlightening in relating it to my own personal experiences from being a white teenager that was bused in the 1970's. Coming from a racist background in Ohio, after being bused I realized that people were people and that color means nothing in the greater reality. I think that "The Autobiograpy of Malcom X" is unique in detailing this in an important man's strugle with his life and beliefs.
Rating:
Summary: a must read
Review: I read this book at sixteen and loved it. The only problem I had with it was that it got a bit redundant in the middle. The beginning of the book explaining his life before his religious outbreak was very fascinating. I recommend this book for anyone interested in Malcolm X as I was.
Rating:
Summary: Very powerful and very eye-opening!
Review: Being a young fellow, I grew up long after the Civil Rights movement. By this time, Dr King was already fading into legend. Yet, Malcolm X had never lost his controversial edge. Because of this, he probably never achieved the legendary status of Dr. King, but after reading this book, I respect him far more. What really makes Malcolm X such a great figure is the way his life took him from the slums of Harlem, selling dope, and becoming an addict, to a radical Muslim who hated the "white devil", to his pilgrimage in Mecca, and re-evaluating the racial problem in America. However, this book is outstanding because it doesn't just tell a story, but you really can feel and understand the way Malcolm felt during different stages in his life. Malcolm X never held back the truth in what he observed, and for some readers, the truth will be painful. Yet as Malcolm says "the truth cuts like a double-edged sword". After reading this book, I see the racial problem in America in a much different light, and my appreciation for Malcolm X is that much greater. Malcolm is truly an extraordinary figure in history, and no one worked harder to restore pride in Afro-Americans than he. This book provides a very fascinating insight into this remarkable man. I sincerely believe that every American youth should read this book, and never forget this brilliant man, who forever changed America.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Book of All Time!!!
Review: I absoulutely think that this book is the greatest book of all time. What i mean by that is it makes you think about who you are, and everything about you. (Your religon, your persanality, your culture, your ethnic group.) If you want to truly find out real African-American history, read this book. I never knew that a book could ever make me think like this book has made me think. I've read this book over 4 times and i still want to read it (but the library made me turn it back in). What does that say to you? Here, I'll spell it for you. C-L-A-S-S-I-C! This book has given me inspiration to do things that challenge me and has given me hope to turn my life around. I hope you read this book and it does good things for you as it did for me.
Rating:
Summary: A literary masterpiece!!
Review: Never before has a book had such a profound impact on me. At the age of sixteen I watched the movie directed by Spike Lee and became aware of caliber of the man, Malcolm X. Years later I have read the book and have gained a much greater insight into Malcolm and the principles he stood for. Being an orthodox Muslim myself, I did not agree with his ideals and beliefs until his turn around during the last year of his life. However the book and his story allows the reader to understand how American society in the former part of the last century could create such a man and a hateful organization such as the Nation of Islam. In his book Malcolm gives the reader detailed accounts of his years as a child and his family's constant loosing battle against the American system. He also charters his rise to crime within the unfortunate ghettos that African Americans were caged in and his eventual conversion to the Nation, a religion and sect that is very loosely based on the religion of Islam. The book details his political career and his part in the struggle for civil rights. Most of all the book shows how one man from the slums can rise to become a figure of paramount importance during a time in the world where most did not view African Americans with any kind of credibility. It is sad that The USA allowed such a man to be lost into history, however his legend lives strong. I have no doubts that if Malcolm X were alive today the world would be quite a different place. His autobiography is a must for anyone who is interested in Malcolm, the civil rights movement or American history. In fact I would go as far as recommending this book for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest book ever
Review: I just finished reading this book, and there is no doubt that this is my favorite book of all time. Every page is filled with riveting, hurtful, but true honesty that makes me put the book down on my lap and say "Damn, I never thought of that." It expresses the true nature of the black race, and it made me analyze more closely the political, social, and economical status of the black race in America today. Before I read this book, I always saw Malcolm X as a rhetoric, a nobody who stood behind a podium and spoke meaningless, and hateful words. My thoughts are changed. Malcolm X is a leader, and this is what that book taught me.
Rating:
Summary: A necessity to understand America
Review: To understand what the United States are really about you have to read the autobiography of Malcolm X.
Also when he understandably tells from his subjective perspective, his honesty and his fullhearted engagement in everything he does makes him absolutely trustworthy.
The great thing on America is that it's such a multicultural society. To get an overall view you have to be open to all parts of that society.
| 
