Manning Marable

An authoritative biography of Malcolm X draws on new research to reveal information not contained in his autobiography, including the true story behind his assasination. By the author of Beyond Black and White: Transforming African-American Politics.

A Life of Reinvention

Malcolm X

Elizabeth Clement

Really fantastic and in-depth. At times I felt like it was taking a long time to read, but it was never slow or boring. Highly recommended.

Jeni Enjaian

Before reading this book I knew only vague, fairly inaccurate facts about Malcolm X. This book opened ,y eyes immensely to the depth of the man and the situation. Marable creates an incredibly readable narrative that draws the reader in whether novice or academic. Speaking as one who has been in the academic circles, this book lacks in a couple key historiographical areas which kept me from giving the book five stars instead of four. First, something Marable says in the introduction (I cannot remember the exact words) indicates that he might harbor a slight sense of bias in favor of Malcolm X. I did not detect bias through the rest of the book but that section of the introduction remained in the back of my mind as I read. Second, Marable frequently uses quotations yet nowhere are those quotes linked to his source documentation in the text itself. The notes are listed at the end of the book which places the onus on the reader to remember the exact wording (endnote number is not used) and page number if he wishes to discover the original source of the quotation. I understand that the general public may be off put by frequent interruption of the text with numbers. However, I do not believe that is an excuse to leave any documentation unclear. 
Overall, I thought that this was a well written book and definitely recommend it.

Nick Palmer

Nihar Yusoof 

'Groundbreaking . . . It will be difficult for anyone to better this book . . . a work of art, a feast that combines genres skilfully: biography, true-crime, political commentary. It gives us Malcolm X in full gallop' Wil Haygood, Washington Post 'He was a country bumpkin who became a zoot-suited entertainer who became a petty criminal who became a self-taught intellectual . . . In his revealing and prodigiously researched new biography, Marable vividly chronicles these many incarnations of Malcolm X, describing the 'multiple masks' he donned over the years' Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times 'Explodes the myths that obscure the real man' Hugh Muir, Guardian 'By the end of the 1960s, Malcolm's disciples had elevated him to what Manning Marable calls 'secular sainthood' . . . But Marable resists the temptation of hagiography and fills in the gaps left by previous books. He gives us Malcolm in all his self-contradiction and self-doubt' Yo Zushi, New Statesman 'Lucid, hugely researched and surely definitive . . . an extraordinary story' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times 'Here at last is the meticulous portrait he deserves' Andrew Anthony, Observer

Cait🪼

Cat Josephson

Taylor

Rachel Benton

An authoritative biography of Malcolm X draws on new research to reveal information not contained in his autobiography, including the true story behind his assasination. By the author of Beyond Black and White: Transforming African-American Politics. Reprint. A National Book Award finalist.

Malcolm X A Life of Reinvention

Reviews