by Manning Marable
4 1/2 stars.I saw this book sitting on a shelf at the library, and having a pitifully small amount of knowledge regarding Malcolm X, I decided to check it out. When I was about 80 pages in, Peter asked me to read it aloud to him. Luckily, it was interesting enough that this was not a problem.I asked...
Cover a famous song and people will test its merits. Reboot a loved film and fanboys will let you know what they think. Write a biography that re-explores a very respected autobiography and you are guaranteed to elicit comparison.It seems perhaps unfair to compare Manning Marable's biography of Malc...
Although it was somewhat interesting to learn about this part of American history, (I say somewhat because I didn't ever come to love Malcolm X based on this bio. I learned quite a bit about some religious movements of the time that was interesting and depressing.), I felt lukewarm about the writing...
What an excellent book.Marable begins with the premise that The Autobiography is the product of both Malcolm's evasions and Haley's biases. He then goes about attempting to set the record straight in the most well-documented way possible. He compiles many original source documents and interviews i...