MALCOLM X A Life of Reinvention

Marable asserts that Malcolm X wrote his 1965 autobiography to demonstrate through his own story the transformative power of the black nationalist organization the Nation of Islam. Here Marable more objectively reexamines the series of reinventions of self that took Malcolm from the streets to a position of national leadership in the Civil Rights movement. G. Valmont Thomas’s tone of gravitas embodies Malcolm’s strengths and flaws: among them, his powerful drive and his failure to envision the possibility of integration. The momentum of Thomas’s voice keeps the listener on track with the decades of personal, historical, and political details. Also impressive is Thomas’s ability to shade in the voices of diverse African-Americans, including well-known figures such as Maya Angelou and Muhammad Ali. E.K.D. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2011]