Autobiography Of Malcolm X Summary

The Autobiography of Malcolm X The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X was originally published by Grove Press in 1965. The story starts out with Malcolm as a little boy. His father was killed as he was young, and he and his many siblings were left with only his mother. His family was repeatedly visited by social services and eventually, his mother went crazy and he was split up from his siblings. Malcolm attends different schools and lives in various foster homes. He visits his half-sister, Ella, and eventually moves in with her. While living with her, he starts to work at numerous jobs, but he starts to sell alcohol and drugs on the side. He becomes very caught up in all sorts of criminal activities, such as bootlegging.

He made use of his time in prison by reading and studying. He also hears about Islam and decides to convert. Once he is released from prison, he starts recruiting people to become a member of the Muslim temple and convert. He also continues to build and create more temples. He eventually marries Betty. After a series of events he becomes isolated from the Nation of Islam and starts his own organization with it being more inclusive than the Nation of Islam. He also begins to reshape his public image and it allows him to speak with the white press effectively. He travels to multiple countries and has a new outlook. There are multiple things I learned about this book. First, I learned a lot more about the religion of Islam. Since I personally do not follow that religion, my knowledge was lacking on it. I learned that there is one god, Allah, and he has messengers that preach to other people at temples. In this book, Elijah Muhammad was the messenger and Malcolm idolized him. I also learned that in the Nation of Islam that if you go against the beliefs, such as cheating, stealing, smoking, etc. you will be punished harshly, usually ends up being isolated from the Nation. In my religion, although all of those things are frowned upon, you would not be