Mind Map of The Autobiography of Malcolm X

The Autobiography of Malcolm X is a biography of the American Black militant religious leader and activist Malcolm Little, published in 1965. The book earned notoriety as a classic work on the Black American experience, written by Alex Haley, who recorded extensive audiotaped interviews with Malcolm X right before his assassination in 1965.

The Autobiography follows Malcolm X's life from his traumatic childhood in a racist environment to his years as a drug dealer and pimp, his conversion to the Black Muslim (Nation of Islam) faith while in prison for burglary, his subsequent years of militant activism, and his late-in-life conversion to more orthodox Islam.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X is an account of the life of Malcolm X, born Malcolm Little (1925–1965), who became a human rights activist. Beginning with his mother's pregnancy, the book describes Malcolm's childhood first in Omaha, Nebraska and then in area around Lansing and Mason, Michigan, the death of his father under questionable circumstances, and his mother's deteriorating mental health that resulted in her commitment to a psychiatric hospital. Little's young adulthood in Boston and New York City is covered, as well as his involvement in organized crime. This led to his arrest and subsequent eight- to ten-year prison sentence, of which he served six-and-a-half years (1946–1952).