Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention

This book is amazing. If you have never read anything regarding Malcolm X besides school propaganda you will be shocked by what this book reveals. X was a powerful, intellectual, self aware leader that was able to realize when he was wrong and when he was right. I highly recommend you check out this well written piece of art.

great read. probably the most comprehensive book on X. however, be warned- Marable comes with his own baggage and it is evident in the personal judgements and labeling of X. Haley had his own baggage in the autobiography also. so, judge for yourself.

A good book in parts as it give different perspectives on various events that Malcolm could not have known. However it constantly makes accusations that it does not back up such as Malcolm's alleged homosexual acts and his trysts with Fifi and Sharon 6X Poole.

I met Marable around 1999 when he spoke in Charleston SC. Very personable, even when we disagreed on the relevance of socialism (which be devoutly believed in at the time). So I eagerly awaited this and was filled with sorrow over Marable's death. The result is important, but with very disturbing implications.

Basically, in terms of Malcolmology, Marable picks up where Bruce Perry and Karl Evanzz left off. Marable does not get as deep into the armchair psychoanalysis of Malcolm as Bruce Perry did in his Malcolm bio, nor does he get as thick into the background of Elijah Muhammmad or Nation Of Islam founder Wallace Ford (aka W.D. Fard) as did Karl Evanzz. But Marable has the advantage of having Malcoolm's diary, actual papers, and interviews with previously untapped sources.

He somewhow managed to get Louis Farrakhan to be interviewed on Malcolm for this book. The former Calypso Gene does himself no favors. Farrakhan admits to some of the brutality of the old NOI, tells a cock-and-bull tale of a dream in which M/X supposedly spoke to him in 2007 (did he realize that no one outside of his following would believe such a convenient story?), and admits tattling the tale of Malcolm's spreading stories of Elijah Muhammad's adultery to Elijah himself, which began the downward sprial leading to M/X's murder. Farrakhan also surpringly claims that the reason M/X went buck wild over the story of Elijah's out of wedlock children was because one of Malcolm's former lovers was involved-and further alleges that M/X told him that he wanted to see this former lover behind his wife Betty's back! Given the penchant for secrecy in the NOI, why would Farrakhan publicly admit to something like this? Marable of course mentions Farrakhan's infamous statement on M/X in Dec. 1964 ("The die is set and Malcolm sould not escape-a man like Malcolm is worthy of death."). While Marable avoids further delving in the Farrakhan involvement (such as the Minister's horrifying 1993 admission "if we dealt with Malcolm like a nation deals with a traitor, what business is it of yours?"), Marable concludes that Farrakhan "had the most to gain from Malcolm's murder."

NOI leader Larry X Prescott makes a telling admission in all this-that the NOI was simply not for intellectually confident individuals who could think for themselves such as Malcolm. This is still true today!

The tale of Malcolm's supposed affair with Paul Lennon is handled in passing, and marable makes it clear that there is no evidence of this or any other such involvement happening after M/X's conversion (not mentioned are M/X's anti-gay slurs against Bayard Rustin in John Henrik Clarke's bio on M/X). However, Marable accuses Malcolm's wife Betty (who is not portrayed positively at all by her former associates in this book) of having an affair with one of M/X's henchmen and claims that M/X mentioned an affair with a Swiss woman while in Egypt in his diary (for M/X to record such a thing would make no sense).

Perhaps the most horrific exposure in the book is the biz about M/X allegedly having an affair with a teenage NOI member-the very thing that he broke with Elijah Muhammad over! Marable adds that this supposed paramour was sitting next to one of the actual assassins at the Audobon and deliberately fingered the wrong man-the actual assassin was also supposed to be this teenager's other lover! If this story is true, this needs major investigation!

This is all so disturbing (if it is true) because M/X has been held up for 40 years as proof that troubled ghetto youth-then and now-could overcome lurid temptation and could successfully transform themselves into useful citizens of moral authority as opposed to the other charlatans who have since posed as "Black leaders." Plus, this aspect is more toward the Kitty Kelly school of biography. However, what remains of Malcolm after this is the undeniable fact of, as his former honcho Benjamin 2x Karriem (one of the few people who escapes unscathed in this book), M/X's willingness to die for what he saw as truth, as well as the fact that an amoral pimp, drug dealer, and petty thug with an 8th grade education could grow up into someone who could speak intelligently and command respect at places such as Harvard and Oxford University, as well as with varying heads of state. So I will continue to share aspects of THAT Malcolm to the students that I teach.

If the Autobiography intrigued you or raised questions in your mind, read this stimulating engagement into African American thinking and racism in the USA. It may deepen and broaden your understanding of our challenges as a world class nation as it did mine.

"Malcolm X A Life of Reinvention" by Manning Marable has given the world a better look into the life of "Our Shining Prince Malcolm" the book is epic and a great analysis of Malcolm's life. There were so many gaps left out by the autobiography by Alex Haley and also by the Spike Lee movie. One now has a better look at the Malcolm that we have cherished and love. I have a greater appreciation and admiration for him and there is nothing in the book that could ever diminish my love and admiration of the man.I hope that his daughters can take solace in the fact that we all loved Malcolm and in a way he belonged to us all. We all are family and often in family there are family secrets that surface up and yet we will still have love for that family member.

This book was so well written and researched that I believe that no one in the future can write a better book about the life and times of Malcolm X. We got a chance to know Malcolm the MAN in all his faults,dreams,aspirations and his sincere love for our people. I don't believe that there was ever a man that loved and fought for his people more than Malcolm. He dedicated his ever waking moment to the advancement of our people, I say this because Malcolm placed the dreams of our people before his family and religion which we all know he loved his family and Elijah. It is rare to find a Man that would so willingly give his life for his people and what he believed in, yet Malcolm did just that...he gave his life.

What was left out of Haley's book and the movie which I believed was the most important transformation of Malcolm life "were his trips to Africa and to the Middle East" and Malcolm was setting himself up to be the leader of a "New Black Empire" in America. Historically what was happening at the time in Africa, was that many Africa Nations were gaining independence and Malcolm was meeting with many revolutionary leaders and heads of states, that he switched his tactics by taking our Human Rights issue to the U.N. This last transformation by Malcolm transformed him into a shrewd Pan African Leader.

The book provided more in-depth information about Malcolm travels and was a very important dimension which needed to be included in the original autobiography and the Malcolm X movie. So in that respect alone we all owe a debt of gratitude to Manning Marable for bringing forth this new information. It is not often that the world gives us a Man like Malcolm and history has to get it right by giving a as close to accurate assessment of his life so that we can properly honor him. I can go on and on about the new information I received by reading the book because it offers the reader a opportunity to again to dream and ponder about "What if Malcolm had of lived?" So I suggest that anyone who cares about the plight of our people and loved Malcolm to definitely read this book for themselves and don't allow jealous people to destroy your opinion about Malcolm who died as a martyr for his people.

Dr. John Henrik Clarke made this statement to those college professors and to those in the movement ...if you want to be taken seriously, you need to write a book or no one will ever take you as a serious scholar. Again to the family of Malcolm...Thank you for sharing Malcolm with us and to the family of Manning Marable "Thank you as well and hopefully his monumental work will bring us someone like Malcolm. Manning's book now supersedes all books ever written about "Our Shining Prince" and if I was granted just one wish, it would be "Genie I'll trade you Obama for Malcolm!"

As the reviews are coming in I'm noticing that mostly the good reviews are Certified the store buyers, yet the bad reviews aren't. Wondering if they actually read the book or just writing reviews since none of the bad reviews go into much details of the book. Also it is their only review on the store...sort of suspect of those reviews.

Without fail, this is a work of extraordinary reach and exquisite quality. Dr. Marable and his team has laid writ an exhaustive historical finding of facts that will endure the test of time. MALCOLM X - A Life of Reinvention- avoids overt dramatic flairs but rivets the reader like no text book. Pages become cinema verite of the mind, a masterpiece that reaches the highest aspiration of the Pulitzer Prize for History, which Manning Marable so deservedly won.

I gave this book five stars for three different reasons. (1) Mr. Marable is a very good writer, and no doubt an excellent researcher. (2) the life of Malcolm X is fascinating. Every account of his life that I have read documents an extremely moral, capable, intelligent, unique individual who cared more for the masses of black people than he did for his personal family.

This is a very interesting book. I loved reading some of the facts about Malcolm X that we never heard about. There was a lot more to the man than we have heard and read about over the years. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading about about Malcolm X.

Finally a book that was written showing the transformation of Malcolm from limited to limitless. There are many facts in this book that were not in the Alex Haley version of his autobiography. Everyone can learn something from this book.

Malcolm owns a special place in the history of struggle for the "so called negro" as he would say here in America. This outstanding book really captured that. If ever a "Mount Rushmore" of black men is built - reserve a prominent spot for brother Malcolm!

I have the utmost respect for the late Dr. Manning Marable, but his infusion of his own opinions in regard to historical events he had no evidence to support really knocks the book down from Great to simply good.

Dr. Marable often states a possible occurence, solely based on circumstantial evidence or hearsay from witnesses with questionable credibility, early in the book, then states it as if it were fact later in the book. At times, I actually found myself asking "What does he have against Malcolm X." I felt there was very little obectivity.

On the positive side, Dr. Marable presents a plethora of facts that were unavailable in previous books about Malcolm X. He also does an excellent job of outlining Malcolm X's transition, or reinvention as he calls it, in his political thinkings.

Andre M's review is racist and bigoted and focuses on the stereoptypical views of the Black man that Malcolm fought so hard to eradicate. What is interesting is that Andre wastes time in his critique of the book on the most sensationalists tabloid driven tidbits: alleged affairs, hetero and otherwise. While I haven't read the book its share density I'm sure would allow for Andre to find more poignant and important details that Manning researched in learning about the complexity of the man. That Andre chose to focus in his review of the most irrelevant aspects of the book and sums it up with his clearly racist views about black men does no service to the incredible work of Mr. Manning. As a teacher I worry for Andre's students!

I have always been curious about Malcolm X but have avoided his autobiography because of the known liberties Haley took to mold the story to his message. Marable provides a balanced, detailed but always captivating narrative. Must read!

I would like to give Mr. Marable credit for assembling so much information from various sources. It must have cost many hours of research and chasing leads for information. I applaud his effort and contribution of petite details.

Otherwise, this book serves as a rather thinly veiled attempt to chastise Malcolm and insert "reasonable liberalized judgement" of his life and political beliefs. Much of the book seems more concerned with documenting the civil rights factions and their opposing ideologies. I suspect Mr. Marable held shared beliefs with Bayard Rustin, MLK, and other leaders opposing Malcolm at the time. As he paints Alex Haley as manipulative he uses the same paint brush to articulate his particular view points.
He also speculates most of the "ground breaking" info about Malcolm's personal life. He provides no better proof than "it is possible" or "Chances are that" or even "it is most likely that".
Some reviewers have touched on most of what I believe within in the 3 stars and below. Ultimately, this book seems like a post-civil rights black liberal's attempt to right Malcolm's perceived naive perspective on the black movement. I file this book with the other "high and mighty" books written by black academia for vanity approved by their ivy-league audience as an abyss of more important constituents are left as fodder.

While I cannot "review" Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable as I have not finished reading it, I CAN question why the author/publisher left reference numbers out of the text. Without a reference number, it is not easy to match quotes and important claims with the actual source (487 of them!) of the claim. Very troubling. A significant part of the value of a scholarly work is the reader being able to reasonably find the source of the material.

Manning Marable (May his soul rest from his labors) has given a valuable gift to all born into the black consciousness that was the 1950 - 1975. Professor Marable has told us what really happened and why. Thank you Leith Mullings, for your dedication to the research that shined light on the truth and revealed the lies - no longer secreted in dark hearts.
Thank you Professor Marable, thank you for caring.

While I cannot "review" Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable as I have not finished reading it, I CAN question why the author/publisher left reference numbers out of the text. Without a reference number, it is not easy to match quotes and important claims with the actual source (487 of them!) of the claim. Very troubling. A significant part of the value of a scholarly work is the reader being able to reasonably find the source of the material.

Manning Marable (May his soul rest from his labors) has given a valuable gift to all born into the black consciousness that was the 1950 - 1975. Professor Marable has told us what really happened and why. Thank you Leith Mullings, for your dedication to the research that shined light on the truth and revealed the lies - no longer secreted in dark hearts.
Thank you Professor Marable, thank you for caring.

While there are lots of interesting facets of Malcolm X's life, this book leaves much to be desired in terms of clear rationale for events and a picture of why people felt or behaved in the way they did. Facts aren't a story, and footnotes aren't a reason to believe. If Haley's book had been available online, I would have retread it and found myself both educated and entertained.

Manning Marable's book, Malcolm X, A Life of Reinvention, is an informative if unexciting read that adds important details to the story of the still-fascinating African-American revolutionary. Having read the famous Autobiography several times, I was still unaware, for example, at how much Malcolm travelled overseas, as well as his impact on foreign audiences. (Unfortunately, Mr. Marable's book plods exasperatingly in those chapters, as he includes far too much trivia. If you must know when Malcolm had a sandwich in Sussex or met 3 students at a Liberian airport, Marable has those details.) Information about Malcolm's rocky relationship with his powerful sister Ella, his troubled marriage and further details about the split with the Nation of Islam illuminate both the private and public figure. And the information about previous back to Africa groups is fascinating, as are the sections on Marcus Garvey and the formative days of the Nation of Islam. Marable is also insightful--if scathing, writing about Malcolm's co-author, Alex Haley. Marable's portrayal of Haley is a brutal picture of the free lancer as a sycophantic hustler.
Where Marable's runs into trouble is in his constant editorializing (he takes every opportunity to show exactly how much he disapproves of his subject's politics) and with some rather questionable lapses in logic and fact-gathering. I, for one, would have liked more information about the formation of the Nation of Islam's religious enforcement squads, the funding for Malcolm's foreign trips after the split with the NOI and what Marable was able to glean from police and government surveillance files. Marable makes some strong charges against those he feels were involved in the assassination and the charges are not always backed up with factual detail.
Finally, there is a remarkable dearth of photographs: none of Malcolm's wife and children and none of his family except his sister, Ella; none from the NOI temples he organized or the later MMI and OAAU groups; and only a scattershot few from his foreign travels. Considering the access Marable had and the years spent on research it's an odd, regrettable omission.
In the end, while not the definitive biography of Malcolm--it's too flawed for that designation, the research done by Marable and his team will make it valuable tool for the writer who steps forward without the religious and political biases that mar this effort.

Dr. Marable has presented in his magnus opus an example of thorough scholarship. While I have not read it yet, (I just got it in the mail from the store today)I have done what I call the 'leg work' before I delve into any academic work.

That is, I've read the front and back cover, the front and back flaps, the table of contents, the prologue, the glossary of terms, the notes, the acknowledgements, the index and the bibliography.

For those who desire to do scholarly work, Dr. Marable has set an incredible, new standard. I intend to revise this after I read it cover to cover.

I think Bro. Malcolm would be pleased, he always encouraged people to research thoroughly, honestly and toward a positive end. This work appears to do that.

In Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention, Manning Marable set out to honestly portray a man and to humanize an icon. Marable intended on filling in holes left by truth-bending and necessary lack-of-future-knowledge in The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Since I am not an expert on the subject, I have to say that Marable's book seemed very thorough and well-researched. It was also an engrossing narrative. I feel it well-deserves its Pulitzer Prize. My only complaint was towards the beginning of the novel, Marable inserted some innuendo about Malcolm X's sexuality - which was unnecessary, and rather rude since he didn't have any hard evidence to support his claims. That innuendo was referenced obliquely a few times in the first quarter of the book. Luckily, those references stopped for the last three quarters of the book, or I would have been left with a very bad taste in my mouth.

The only reason I bring up that complaint is because I was looking for hints to why there's a controversy about this book. I was wondering if there was anything I, personally, could pick up. I'm not very familiar with what the controversy is about - and I haven't seen any controversial reference to the innuendo that bothered me. Mostly, the controversy seems to be about Marable's lack of respect for the impact Malcolm X had on the Black Liberation Movement. If you're interested in exploring the controversy, there's a book entitled A Lie of Reinvention: Correcting Manning Marable's Malcolm X, if you really want to delve into the issue. However, I am satisfied that Marable did a lot of really good research, and wrote an interesting and informative book. The issue of exactly what long-term impact Malcolm X had on the Civil Rights Movement and the country as a whole is an opinion, in my opinion.

Manning Marable died just as this appeared, sadly missing the public discussion of this magnum opus. "Malcolm X" is near-definitive based on comprehensive research, often in little-used sources; measured judgements; and supple prose. It does not smear Malcolm, instead humanizing him as a truly complex person. Marable's Malcolm may be less iconic, but his achievements seem even greater considered as triumphs over his own limitations. The biography's main casualty is the reputation of the "Autobiography." The assessment here, minutely comparing independent evidence with autobiographical passages, supports a consensus that Alex Haley's values heavily shaped the text. As with "Roots," the "Autobiography" will rightly continue to inspire readers, but must be seen as a model of a transformative life rather than a literal account. (It is an ironically "Christian" story: a classic Augustinian-tradition conversion narrative, albeit to Islam.) This unsettles some admirers who cannot abide fair-minded criticism, and reference to some homosexual acts. Perhaps this tarnishes their image of a masculine Black man? Regardless, we can still revere Malcolm (in Ossie Davis's profound eulogy) as "our own black shining prince." Well said, brother.

I was prepared to dislike this book, primarily because I thought Manning Marable might go off on some sort of racial rant, or be bent on repeatedly disproving various aspects of Alex Haley's landmark "The Autobiography of Malcolm X."

On the race issue: I didn't pick up anything like that at all. There is the snide comment at the beginning made by Spike Lee that Dan Quayle couldn't possibly have understood "The Autobiography of Malxolm X," as though there was anything very hard to understand about it. There is also the author's failure to more fully explore Malcolm X's 1964 endorsement of Barry Goldwater, which I find fascinating.

But other than that, I thought the author constructed a straight-forward case, presenting to readers large aspects of Malcolm X's life that were not covered in Haley's book, but not in a way that slammed Haley. He also exhaustively chronicles almost every day and hour of Malcolm X's life during the last pivotal year or so of his life. It makes for tiresome reading, to a degree, but he constructs a drama that leaves the reader feeling that sooner or later, given Malcolm X's many controversial activities, comments and appearances in 1964 and early 1965, that surely something bad was going to happen to him.

If I knew a young Dan Quayle, or for that matter a young Spike Lee, I would still recommend Haley's book over this one, largely because it is such an easier read. But for older people who are comfortable with a weighty, dense exploration of one of America's most important leaders, I would suggest this book as well.

Manning Marable's biography is complete and thorough. He set out to address some things that Alex Haley's Autobiography of Malcolm X did not fully explore and to add clarity. I think he succeeded. His work reads like an academic work. It does not drive the reader to get to the next chapter to find out what's coming, but it does provide much detail that helps to give Malcolm's life perspective. Dr. Marable does an especially good job of explaining the Nation of Islam theology and organization. He also provides convincing arguments that Malcolm's death involved persons other than those who served jail time for his murder. Dr. Marable's quest for thoroughness leads him to raise questions about Malcolm's sex life and whether he truly led the austere life that has become a part of his legend. I am convinced that the mention of this topic and others which might show Malcolm's shortcomings was not motivated by a sinister desire to weaken Malcom's legacy. Such information occupies only a small part of the book, but it provides convenient material for both promoters and reviewers to entice readers looking for specious gossip. Any person with intelligence and an open mind will find that the facts of Malcolm's life as presented in the book give testimony to his intellect and his devotion to the cause of improving the lives of black people.

The Marable biography, setting itself apart from some of the other biographies, reveals information from previously unavailable interviews, confidential police reports as well as FBI and CIA documents. Threats, harassment, and intimidation made life hell for Malcolm and his family. By the time of his slaying, the ex-Black Muslim spokesman was an emotional shell of his former self, yet still defiant, bold, and unrepentant.

While the Marable biography underlines the depth of Malcolm's emotional and spiritual evolution and a largely accurate chronicle of the NOI as an influential movement in Black America, the book's value appears in its startling revelations about the mystery of his murder, prompting readers to question why this neglected case is not reopened.

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Firstly, Marable's book is very clearly a labour of love in the face of adversity: not only did it take him many years to complete, but the writing was done at a time when Marable was very ill, and - poignantly - he died just the day before the book was published. It's hard not to be affected by the fact that Marable clearly struggled through poor health to get the book, his life's work, completed before he died.

Secondly, this is a biographical history which is both highly readable and rich with research, much of which has never seen the light of day before. If you have any interest in Malcolm X, then it is to be highly recommended. You will learn a lot and certainly emerge with a clear view of Malcolm's evolving reinvention of his beliefs and opinions as he matured and developed more of a world view.

Thirdly, however, the book is not without flaws, and I do wonder whether they would have arisen if Marable had been in better health and able to spend more time finessing the book. For example, there are numerous examples of Marable's conjecture that Malcolm "may have met" someone or "might have" done something - sometimes the footnotes back up the conjecture with evidence of one or more third parties stating this, but not always. This is just sloppy. Furthermore, the context for some of the narrative might have been better explained - for instance, some more detail on how the Nation of Islam operated would have helped my understanding, with particular focus on why there was so much petty and gratuitous violence associated with the NOI.

Other reviewers have commented on the fact that the book discusses Malcolm's sex life, and I don't have a problem with this: it is instructive to the narrative and helps the reader understand just what sort of person Malcolm was.

All in all, this is a very scholarly account with some mild flaws, which is an essential book for any reader with an interest in Malcolm X / El Hajj Malik el Shabazz, who continues to inspire and intrigue in equal measure nearly 50 years after his death.