Alex haley malcolm x biography author

It was released posthumously on October 29, , nine months after his assassination. Haley coauthored the autobiography based on a series of in-depth interviews he conducted between and The Autobiography is a spiritual conversion narrative that outlines Malcolm X's philosophy of black pride , black nationalism , and pan-Africanism. After the leader was killed, Haley wrote the book's epilogue.

While Malcolm X and scholars contemporary to the book's publication regarded Haley as the book's ghostwriter , modern scholars tend to regard him as an essential collaborator who intentionally muted his authorial voice to create the effect of Malcolm X speaking directly to readers. Haley influenced some of Malcolm X's literary choices.

For example, Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam during the period when he was working on the book with Haley. Rather than rewriting earlier chapters as a polemic against the Nation which Malcolm X had rejected, Haley persuaded him to favor a style of "suspense and drama". According to Manning Marable , "Haley was particularly worried about what he viewed as Malcolm X's anti-Semitism " and he rewrote material to eliminate it.

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In , historian John William Ward wrote that it would become a classic American autobiography. In , Time named The Autobiography of Malcolm X as one of ten "required reading" nonfiction books. Published posthumously, The Autobiography of Malcolm X is an account of the life of Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little — , who became a human rights activist.