Customer Reviews

Malcolm: The Life of the Man Who Changed Black America

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book is good if only for the insight into Malcolm's childhood. Other than that, it makes too many cynical conclusions based on whatever it is the author was trying to get across-- which by the end, is still unclear. Reading the introduction one would assume that this book was poised to breathe new insight on Malcolm the political figure and man. However, what you end up getting is more of a repetitious editorial piece. The author almost insults the intelligence of the reader by constantly rehashing the possible reasoning for Malcolm's every move. At one point, he suggests that Attallah was favored by Malcolm because of her light skin (like his) the way his dark-skinned father had once favored him. Perry also volunteers the very real and most likely possibility that Malcolm took this particular daughter to different events because she was the oldest of the girls. This is just one example of how he insists on giving the reader something to ponder on Malcolm's sincerity as a Black leader, tangible or not. There are parts of this book that indeed ring true with me for what I have interperted Malcolm to be, but these instances are too few and far between. I was in no way expecting an idealized picture to be painted here, only this book offers no real balance. Beyond this wounded Malcolm he avidly portrays, what else was there? Also for the attention he gave to alleged homosexual activity, arson, etc. he mentioned Betty Shabazz sparsely as if she held no importance in Malcolm's life. I found that fact very telling. After supposedly over 400+ interviews, Perry could only gather enough to give the mother of Malcolm's six children passing mentions. I actually got more of a rounded glimpse of Malcolm the man in the biography of Betty Shabazz by Russell J. Rickford. I advise those who are thinking of reading this book first to check out the autobiography w/ Alex Haley instead, then tackle this one if you wish. Even for all its omissions and probable half truths, you'll come away from that book actually understanding something. After reading Mr. Perry's biography, you get the urge to so say, "So?! What was your point?"

I was not too fond of this book, not because I'm a Malcolm fan, but there are too many conclusions that Perry makes with weak evidence. Such as Malcolm's father (and Malcolm himself) setting their houses on fire, Malcolm's alleged homosexual activity, Malcolm asking the Klan why they allowed Dr. King to live, etc. etc. One could see why Dr. Betty Shabazz (Malcolm's wife)told Perry to get lost!

You have to question what Perry wanted to achieve from this book. He seems to have missed, or overlooked, all of the important issues that Malcolm X stood for.

He takes the word of Malcolm's detractors as the gospel truth and diminishes Malcolm's teachings and beliefs by portraying them as paranoid.

Perry seems obsessed with highlighting flaws in Malcolm's personality and uses this device to side step the vital lessons which Malcolm was trying to teach - lesson's which still need to be learnt today.

By all means read this book, but do so very objectively.

Unlike many of the other reviewers, I thought that Perry truly succeeded in this biography of Malcolm. I think that one must have read Malcolm's autobiography to appreciate this book; that said, I'm very glad to have read another source besides the Malcolm/Haley classic. This work does take a critical look into the life of Malcolm, and Perry does seem determined to cast doubt upon Malcolm X's own statements, but I don't think that this was to malign or to lessen Malcolm's credibility and accomplishments. Perry provides the reader with a well researched and backed viewpoint to allow for greater discussion and interpretation of Malcolm's thoughts. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has read Malcolm's autobiography, and who would like to learn more about it.

I understand why a reader might have an ambivalence about this book - at least one other Amazon reviewer commented on Perry's interjecting his own opinions into the mix. Perry does indeed freely share his own thoughts on why Malcolm does what he does, which initially reminded me of the unnecessary analysis of jazz writer James Lincoln Collier, which I found somewhat annoying and which contributed to my initally putting the book down.

Yet the second time I picked it up I had a fresh appreciation for it, and I can forgive what I initially saw as a flaw. This is partly because Perry does not beat you over the head with it, and because, perhaps more to the point, he did his homework and may well have come to know Malcolm better than anyone else, including Malcolm himself. Perry interviewed several hundred friends, relatives and others who were part of Malcolm's life from childhood on, and he's an excellent researcher who often cites several sources for a single comment. Thankfully, he is most definitely not the bookish biographer who simply lays out facts carefully culled from archival sources. He has done a remarkable job of wrapping his head around a highly intelligent, complex and contradictory subject, and while it's clear that he respects Malcolm highly, he's also clear-eyed and doesn't hesitate to straighten out inconsistencies or inaccuracies, either in what Malcolm says or in what others said about him.

The more I read it (and as I write this I'm not quite finished), the more I think Malcolm has been done deeply right by Perry. And how cool is this guy, that he puts a picture of Malcolm thumbing through a book on the very last page of the book, which thus becomes the first thing to greet you when you do the very same thing? Absolutely brilliant!

Bruce Perry's book, for me, has been the best one to date on Malcolm. I read it a few years ago, so bear with my memory. I do believe I liked this book because he challenged Malcolm's autobiography, and in some ways questioned some of Malcolm's recollections of his past. I believe also, if memory serves me, Mr. Perry receieved alot of heat for doing so. The documentary "Make It Plain" also hints in this area that Malcolm wanted to have some control over how his life would be written about. Bruce Perry tends to speculate that Malcolm was too biased to really interpret his own life correctly. What I like about this book is that the author can back up his assertions with research. I guess that is what got under some people's skin, the one's who can't get away from the belief that whatever Malcolm said was the "truth". I believe it is this book also that first introduced me to the connection between Louis Farrakhan and the death of Malcolm. Again, for me, this is the go-to book on Malcolm X.

Jon

This book is highly based on the authors opinions, instead of delivering hard core facts. While reading this book, I found myself questioning the author's intent. This book was written to diminish the image of Malcolm X, despite it being the first biography on him.

Skip this. Only Farrakhan could write something with more contempt.

This book was obviously written by someone who hates Malcolm X. He had nothing positive to say only negative. He even went so far as to make the reader feel as though everything that Malcolm ever said was a lie. He portrays Malcolm as a person who hated himself but I believe it is the writer of this book who hates Malcolm and his family.

Who ever thinks Malcolm X was negative is not getting the information farther of what they know. Bruce Perry is stupid!

Bruce Perry's Malcom gives an in depth analysis of one of the most controversial public figures in modern American history. Perry describes Malcom's troubled childhood in the Midwest, from his bouts with his father infidelities and his unexpected death -ruled accidental, but not certain-- to his, light skinned, mentally ill mother who was not afraid to keep her son in line by any means necessary. Living within a dysfunctional family and having no friends, Malcom finds himself wanting to leave his lonely and slow-pace lifestyle for the exciting East Coast. Moving in with his half-sister in Boston, Malcom becomes involved in criminal activities, from petty dope slinging and "runnin' numbers", to sleeping with white women and committing burglaries. Eventually he finds himself behind bars and from there Malcom X emerges. Known as Red, Malcom becomes acquainted with an inmate, a devoted follower of the Nation of Islam, who teaches Malcom that their is an alternative for black men other than a life of crime. Malcom X is introduced to classic literature, poetry, and Islam. The religion has a powerful effect on Malcom, who embraces its ways and ultimately becomes a follower. When he is released, Malcom X quickly works his way through the ranks to head minister of the most populated and successful Black Mosque in America. According to Perry, Malcom was not only a devoted minister to his mosque, but to several others as well. His superior, the honorable Elijah Muhammad, was initially impressed with the articulate, young orator. In time Malcom X rises in the movement. He grabs all of the headlines and from the media's point of view, becomes the spokesman for the Nation of Islam. Eventually, Malcom breaks from the group and starts his own, which never gets off the ground. He was shot dead during a speech in Harlem, New York in 1965. Malcom X, though poorly educated and a product of a mentally and physically abused household, nevertheless took center stage and improved the quality of life for Black America. Bruce Perry gives the reader a personal account of one of America's enigmatic and flamboyant intellectuals of the twentieth century.