A rich and sometimes strange anthology, in which Malcolm X suffers a variety of sea changes according to the axes ground, to mix the metaphor. This is particularly true of the initial essays on "The Man in Retrospect": Malcolm's bitter NAACP adversary Wyatt Walker offers what sounds like crude opportunist praise, and other writers in evaluating Malcolm's changes-of-heart toward the end of his life go overboard - Reverend Cleage, in denying that he turned toward integration, insists wrongly that he kept proclaiming "hate whitey." There is a brief collection of "personal views," with an essay by Malcolm's widow; then a group of "dialogues," including an exchange with an FBI agent in 1964 and a conversation with Kenneth Clark. The section on "Malcolm X Abroad" features a substantial essay by the Essien-Udoms, which, perhaps exaggerates the degree to which Malcolm had by 1965 become not only Third-World-oriented but a "revolutionary socialist." Finally, there are selections from Malcolm X's own statements: "Message From the Grassroots," already widely available; "God's Judgment of White America," drastically cut without acknowledgment; three products of his African travels, and a speech on Afro-American history. This is the first collection of its kind to appear; it is commendably multi-faceted, and it will be widely read. (Kirkus Reviews)

2000-08-21 The life and meaning of Malcolm

This is a book for those who want to know the thoughts of those who had a close relationship with Malcolm X and those who were well aquainted with Malcolm X (ie his wife and his close associates). It also contains some of his speeches in Africa and America prior to his death. A must for those interested in Malcolm X's struggle and philosophy.