the autobiography of malcolm x

i just finished reading this book (as told to alex haley). my friend anthony gave it to me back in april sayng it was his favorite non-fiction book and a "must read" for everyone. took me a while to trudge through it. i think i just wanted him to move on from white-hating and get to the facts of his life. "the white man's the devil;" yea, yea, i get it. but now that i'm finished and have read the thoughts and comments of alex haley himself at the back of the book, i really enjoyed the read and can completely understand anthony's opinion that everyone in america should read it.

if i sit back and think about the image that came to my mind about malcolm x before i read the book, it was of a villain, someone to be afraid of. completely opposite of martin luther king, jr. MLK = good guy. MX = bad guy. why is that? i didn't even know anything about him (sorry, i missed the movie). but that's what society did to him. he started out bigoted and seperatist (justifyably so in my opinion). but he came around to see the larger issues of culture, class and race. now that i've read the book i have a lot more respect for the man. i still don't agree with all he said, but i don't think of him in negative terms anymore. i now see him as a good guy, a martyr.

so, yea, even if you don't agree with me, or my new friend malcolm, read the book.