The Autobiography of Malcolm X

by Malcolm X · 1965

Told to journalist Alex Haley, this memoir traces Malcolm X's life from a troubled Midwestern childhood and his years as a Harlem street hustler through his imprisonment, self-education, and conversion to the Nation of Islam. It follows his rise as a fiery minister and national spokesman, his bitter break with Elijah Muhammad, his transformative pilgrimage to Mecca, and his evolving views on race in the months before his assassination.

Books mentioned in The Autobiography of Malcolm X (12)

• Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin: “James Baldwin's books, translated, had made a tremendous impact, as had the book Black Like Me, by John Griffin.”
• Paradise Lost by John Milton: “In either volume 43 or 44 of The Harvard Classics, I read Milton's Paradise Lost.”
• The Harvard Classics by Charles W. Eliot: “In either volume 43 or 44 of The Harvard Classics, I read Milton's Paradise Lost.”
• Aesop's Fables by Aesop: “Aesop's Fables—another case in point.”
• Crisis in Black and White by Charles E. Silberman: “he wanted me to be sure and read a new book, Crisis in Black and White by Charles Silberman—one of the very few white writers I know with the courage to tell his kind the truth.”
• Days of Our Years by Pierre van Paassen: “I said it wasn't race, it was a historical fact, that they ought to go and read Pierre van Paassen's Days of Our Years.”
• The Outline of History by H. G. Wells: “Wells' Outline of History.”
• The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois: “Souls Of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois.”
• The Story of Civilization by Will Durant: “I found books like Will Durant's Story of Civilization.”
• The Eternal Message of Muhammad by Abd al-Rahman Azzam: “It was The Eternal Message of Muhammad by Abd-Al-Rahman Azzam.”
• The Black Muslims in America by C. Eric Lincoln: “Eric Lincoln who was at the time writing the book The Black Muslims in America.”
• The Negro in Our History by Carter G. Woodson: “Woodson's Negro History opened my eyes about black empires before the black slave was brought to the United States, and the early Negro struggles for freedom.”

Books that mention The Autobiography of Malcolm X (2)

• White Teeth by Zadie Smith: “'How many times,' Samad growled, after watching his son purchase The Autobiography of Malcolm X, 'is it necessary to say thank you in a single transaction?'”
• A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James: “Autobiography of Malcolm X I expected, and even I have checked out Eldridge Cleaver.”