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sadiereadsagain 's review for:
The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X
by Les Payne, Tamara Payne
This book is a marathon, it's not a sprint - it includes nearly 30 years of research and it's as extensive as those 30 years would imply. It takes us from Malcolm X's childhood, into his young adulthood and the time that he spent in prison, to then joining and rising in the ranks of the Nation of Islam, and then finally to his expulsion from that sect and his eventual assassination. This is the complete story of one of the most prominent figures in the Black rights movement.
I'll be honest - and maybe this is just a product of me being a white person who has lived outside of the US for my whole life - but I have not been particularly familiar with Malcolm X beyond his radical reputation and the fact he was assassinated. I'm far more familiar with Martin Luther King and his non-violent civil rights approach, but even then it's probably not particularly extensive. We didn't learn a lot about it at school. So I was interested to understand this other figurehead, Malcolm X, and what it is that made him such a polarising name. Thanks to this book, I now know more than I ever thought I would.
There's a lot of evident factual research in this biography, but there's also a range of voices from the people who were closest to Malcolm across his life. And not always necessarily the people that just liked him, and so whilst there is a bias towards shining a favourable light on him I think the authors have done well to point out his less than stellar behaviour. They do allow a bit of space for the reader to make up their own mind. Which I appreciated because in truth there was actually a lot about Malcolm that I didn't like from what I read, though I appreciated why he thought the way he did, whether that was because of early life experiences, historical and generational trauma, or the the cult-like doctrine that he was unquestionably loyal to in the Nation of Islam. However, what I learned was that at the time of his assassination it was clear that Malcolm was undergoing a shift in his perspective, which I really do think would have led him to being at least one of the most important leaders for racial and other equalities we would have ever seen. His death is devastating, because in that context it's a loss for the whole world...whilst also being a bit of a coup for those who even still today persist in their quite vicious attempts to keep the power in the hands of the white, straight man.
I did think this book focused more on Malcolm's early life than his impact as the man he became, and it could feel a bit repetitive at times. Also, although there are quotes and letters from Malcolm, they were quite sparse in the narrative and I think I would have enjoyed hearing more of Malcolm X's voice in this book. But on the whole I did think it was quite well presented and strove for a level of balance. It was a pretty accessible read, despite its length, and I'm very glad I read it.
I'll be honest - and maybe this is just a product of me being a white person who has lived outside of the US for my whole life - but I have not been particularly familiar with Malcolm X beyond his radical reputation and the fact he was assassinated. I'm far more familiar with Martin Luther King and his non-violent civil rights approach, but even then it's probably not particularly extensive. We didn't learn a lot about it at school. So I was interested to understand this other figurehead, Malcolm X, and what it is that made him such a polarising name. Thanks to this book, I now know more than I ever thought I would.
There's a lot of evident factual research in this biography, but there's also a range of voices from the people who were closest to Malcolm across his life. And not always necessarily the people that just liked him, and so whilst there is a bias towards shining a favourable light on him I think the authors have done well to point out his less than stellar behaviour. They do allow a bit of space for the reader to make up their own mind. Which I appreciated because in truth there was actually a lot about Malcolm that I didn't like from what I read, though I appreciated why he thought the way he did, whether that was because of early life experiences, historical and generational trauma, or the the cult-like doctrine that he was unquestionably loyal to in the Nation of Islam. However, what I learned was that at the time of his assassination it was clear that Malcolm was undergoing a shift in his perspective, which I really do think would have led him to being at least one of the most important leaders for racial and other equalities we would have ever seen. His death is devastating, because in that context it's a loss for the whole world...whilst also being a bit of a coup for those who even still today persist in their quite vicious attempts to keep the power in the hands of the white, straight man.
I did think this book focused more on Malcolm's early life than his impact as the man he became, and it could feel a bit repetitive at times. Also, although there are quotes and letters from Malcolm, they were quite sparse in the narrative and I think I would have enjoyed hearing more of Malcolm X's voice in this book. But on the whole I did think it was quite well presented and strove for a level of balance. It was a pretty accessible read, despite its length, and I'm very glad I read it.