Winner of the 2020 National Book Award for Nonfiction
An epic biography of Malcolm X finally emerges, drawing on hundreds of hours of the authors interviews, rewriting much of the known narrative.
“Comprehensive, timely life of the renowned activist and his circuitous rise to prominence….Payne delivers considerable news not just in recounting unknown episodes of Malcolm’s early years, but also in reconstructing events during his time as a devotee of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad…Payne’s accounts of the consequences that rupture and Malcolm’s assassination at the hands of a ‘goon squad’ with ties to the FBI and CIA are eye-opening, and they add a new dimension to our understanding of Malcolm X’s last years….A superb biography and an essential addition to the library of African American political engagement.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
- NY Times Review: A New Life of Malcolm X Brimming With Detail, Insight and Feeling
- Los Angeles Times: Malcolm X’s full story will never be told. These biographies explain why
- The Guardian: the real Malcolm X
- The Atlantic: Beyond the Myth
- The American Scholar: Black America’s Tough-Minded Truth Teller
- Japan Today
- The Grio
