The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Biography of the American black religious leader and activist who was born Malcolm Little, published in 1965. Written by Alex Haley, who had conducted extensive audiotaped interviews with Malcolm X just before his assassination in 1965, the book gained renown as a classic work on black American experience.

The Autobiography is told through the first-person voice of Malcolm X with added content and narrative provided by Alex Haley. Though at times self-aggrandizing, Malcolm X tells of his extraordinary transformation from a boy whose father was murdered by white supremacists; to a young scam artist and drug dealer in Harlem, New York; to a self-taught scholar in prison; to a prominent leader in and minister for the Nation of Islam; and then finally, to a man transformed by his trip to Africa and to Mecca and marked as a threat by the Nation of Islam leaders.

Through a life of passion and struggle, Malcolm X became one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century. Here, the man who called himself “the angriest Black man in America” relates how his conversion to true Islam helped him confront his rage and recognize the brotherhood of all mankind. An established classic of modern America, The Autobiography of Malcolm X was hailed by the New York Times as “Extraordinary. A brilliant, painful, important book.” The strength of his words, the power of his ideas continue to resonate more than a generation after they first appeared.