Book Review - The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Last week I finished reading the Autobiography of Malcolm X. There is so much to say about the man and the book, but I will try to focus my comments.
Reading this autobiography, it is easy to understand many of the extreme choices that Malcolm X made, including his life of poverty, drugs, prison, the nation of Islam, and militarism. One particular telling story (and I’m paraphrasing) was when young Malcolm, a star student and class president of an almost entirely white school, asked his teacher if he could be a lawyer one day and the teacher said that because he was a negro that was unrealistic and perhaps he should consider being a carpenter. This attitude the Malcolm received all the white people in his young life was more then enough to break his spirit and make it seem like the underworld was his only possible escape. Of course, Malcolm X was a brilliant man (even after he kicked his addictions to marijuana, cocaine, and opium) who might have become an excellent lawyer if he was encouraged to be one. But Malcolm X went to prison and in a man’s darkest hours, he often turns to the brightest light (even if the light blinds some of his senses). I don’t want to go into detail about his experiences with the nation of Islam, but I did want to discus briefly Malcolm X’s life in the year before he was assassinated. Malcolm X had gone to Mecca and he found orthodox Islam, but he also spent significant time with many world leaders, especially African and Middle Eastern leaders. When he returned home (he had left the Nation of Islam prior to his pilgrimage), he wanted to start a new type of movement. The problem was that Malcolm X was experiencing too many new ideas. He continued to meet with more world leaders, while trying to preach at public events. However, his message kept changing as his perspectives changed. I don’t believe Malcolm X ever got the chance to fully develop his post-Nation of Islam philosophies. Malcolm had spend 12 years in a constant flurry of activities and he never thought to stay out of the pubic eye for a year or two to development his relationships around the world and to create a new set of consistent principals for his movement to be based on. I’m not sure what he would have come up with, but I think it would have (as everything Malcolm X ever did) had the best long-term interests of the African-American population at its heart.
After reading the book, I am more surprised that it was ever made. Malcolm X started working with Alex Haley while he was still following the Nation of Islam. At the time, Malcolm wanted the press to feature Elijah Muhammad and not himself and likewise, the Nation of Islam was beginning to think that Malcolm X was getting too much attention for himself. So I don’t fully understand why they all agreed to start working on this autobiography. And although Alex Haley is a most honorable writer, I still question any autobiography is which the subject did not get a chance to approve or comment on the published version.
I want to say that I think the movie, by Spike Lee, did a very good job of staying consistent with the overarching themes and ideas of the book, although many of the specific of certain scenes were not accurate (actually I think Spike Lee decided to combine certain events or places to save time, either way nothing very important was changed). From a literary standpoint, the book is very well written and easily understood. It is a first person story, with limited dialogue, but excellent expressions of the events in history. And the story is not just of Malcolm X, but it is also the best history of African-Americans, from 1925-1965, that I have read. It was honest and describes not only his life, but the of millions of Americans.
Overall, I give the Autobiography of Malcolm X an A-. I suggest it to everyone, especially Americans. It also gives more credibility to the movie, which I would also recommend. I don’t want to make judgments on the life of Malcolm X, but I wish that all people were just as passionate when the see oppression and fight as proudly for justice.
Reading this autobiography, it is easy to understand many of the extreme choices that Malcolm X made, including his life of poverty, drugs, prison, the nation of Islam, and militarism. One particular telling story (and I’m paraphrasing) was when young Malcolm, a star student and class president of an almost entirely white school, asked his teacher if he could be a lawyer one day and the teacher said that because he was a negro that was unrealistic and perhaps he should consider being a carpenter. This attitude the Malcolm received all the white people in his young life was more then enough to break his spirit and make it seem like the underworld was his only possible escape. Of course, Malcolm X was a brilliant man (even after he kicked his addictions to marijuana, cocaine, and opium) who might have become an excellent lawyer if he was encouraged to be one. But Malcolm X went to prison and in a man’s darkest hours, he often turns to the brightest light (even if the light blinds some of his senses). I don’t want to go into detail about his experiences with the nation of Islam, but I did want to discus briefly Malcolm X’s life in the year before he was assassinated. Malcolm X had gone to Mecca and he found orthodox Islam, but he also spent significant time with many world leaders, especially African and Middle Eastern leaders. When he returned home (he had left the Nation of Islam prior to his pilgrimage), he wanted to start a new type of movement. The problem was that Malcolm X was experiencing too many new ideas. He continued to meet with more world leaders, while trying to preach at public events. However, his message kept changing as his perspectives changed. I don’t believe Malcolm X ever got the chance to fully develop his post-Nation of Islam philosophies. Malcolm had spend 12 years in a constant flurry of activities and he never thought to stay out of the pubic eye for a year or two to development his relationships around the world and to create a new set of consistent principals for his movement to be based on. I’m not sure what he would have come up with, but I think it would have (as everything Malcolm X ever did) had the best long-term interests of the African-American population at its heart.
After reading the book, I am more surprised that it was ever made. Malcolm X started working with Alex Haley while he was still following the Nation of Islam. At the time, Malcolm wanted the press to feature Elijah Muhammad and not himself and likewise, the Nation of Islam was beginning to think that Malcolm X was getting too much attention for himself. So I don’t fully understand why they all agreed to start working on this autobiography. And although Alex Haley is a most honorable writer, I still question any autobiography is which the subject did not get a chance to approve or comment on the published version.
I want to say that I think the movie, by Spike Lee, did a very good job of staying consistent with the overarching themes and ideas of the book, although many of the specific of certain scenes were not accurate (actually I think Spike Lee decided to combine certain events or places to save time, either way nothing very important was changed). From a literary standpoint, the book is very well written and easily understood. It is a first person story, with limited dialogue, but excellent expressions of the events in history. And the story is not just of Malcolm X, but it is also the best history of African-Americans, from 1925-1965, that I have read. It was honest and describes not only his life, but the of millions of Americans.
Overall, I give the Autobiography of Malcolm X an A-. I suggest it to everyone, especially Americans. It also gives more credibility to the movie, which I would also recommend. I don’t want to make judgments on the life of Malcolm X, but I wish that all people were just as passionate when the see oppression and fight as proudly for justice.
Comments
More of my other favorite non-fiction books are much longer. The Power Broker is a book I think you would especially like because it deals with NY State politics.
I had a big poster of Malcolm in my room in high school because I thought his intellectual journey was so amazing and righteous, and also because he looked a lot like my dad in that one picture. My brother and I also thought this was very odd.
Anyway, it really makes you think about what other people's beliefs are based on. For another interesting look at black reality, try Black Like Me where a white journalist colors his skin to pass as black and travels through the south. And then for more Black Power revolutionary thinking there's the classic, Soul On Ice. (I can't help it - the Black Panthers headquarters was on the same street I lived on, a couple miles down the road in Oakland.) (Those are both non-fiction, Glen.)