The Autobiography of Malcolm X

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The Autobiography of Malcolm X cover

The Autobiography of Malcolm X (ISBN 0-345-35068-5) was written by Alex Haley between 1964 and 1965, based on interviews conducted shortly before Malcolm X's death (and with an epilogue for after it), and was published in 1965. The book was named by Time magazine as one of the five most important nonfiction books of the 20th century.

The screenplay for the 1992 Spike Lee film Malcolm X was adapted from The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

The book describes Malcolm X's upbringing in Michigan, his maturation to adulthood in Boston and New York, his time in prison, his conversion to Islam, his ministry, his travels to Africa and to Mecca, and his subsequent career and eventual assassination at the Audubon Ballroom near 166th Street and Broadway in New York City. The book contains a great deal of substantial thought that concerns African-American existence.

The emotional timbre of the book could be described as a crystal-clear elucidation of some very complicated philosophies originating from the unpleasant, tragic life experience of Malcolm X as a young man in Michigan.

Haley stated in the documentary Eyes on the Prize that it was difficult to write the autobiography, as Malcolm X was quite averse to talking about himself, preferring to talk about the Nation of Islam.

However, the book has been criticized by some scholars for possibly being factually inaccurate or misleading in certain parts. In addition, members of Malcom X's family and the Nation of Islam have accused author Alex Haley of changing or fictionalizing parts of the story.

In fact, in 2005 historian Manning Marable claimed that Haley worked with the FBI while writing the book with Malcolm X. He also talked about the existence of three unpublished chapters of the book.[1]