Malcolm X, African American revolutionary

While this biography of Malcolm X touches upon his early life and young adulthood, it focuses most prominently on the revolutionary's final years, which were largely dominated by his departure from the Nation of Islam and his conflict with Elijah Muhammad.

It begins with Malcolm's seven-year imprisonment at the age of 21, when he began his noted quest for self-education and first became familiar with the teachings of the Nation of Islam, and continues through his official adoption of the religion of the Nation of Islam; his ministry at Elijah Muhammad's Temple Number Seven and other significant contributions to the Nation's growth; his eventual disillusionment and rejection of the Nation's teachings; and his pilgrimage to Mecca and other international travels.There is a particular focus on the 11-month period from March 8, 1964, when Malcolm officially left the Nation of Islam, to February 21, 1965, when he was assassinated while delivering a speech at Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom.

Throughout, the author addresses a number of important points, assumptions and questions, including the role of fellow prisoner John Elton Bembry in Malcolm's prison conversion; whether Malcolm decided to leave the Nation of Islam before he was suspended by Elijah Muhammad; whether he was seeking martyrdom; and the extent of the role that government agencies played in Malcolm X's death.