From Book News, Inc.
Substantial extracts from the 3,600 page, 19 section declassified FBI file as edited into a narrative of the brief but dynamic career of the charismatic African-American activist. The materials include personal correspondence, newspaper articles, radio and television interviews, sermons and speeches delivered in the cause of black nationalism. With a section-by-section commentary by Clayborne Carson and an introduction by Spike Lee. Acidic paper. Paper edition (758-5), $12.95. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.


From the Publisher
From March, 1953 forward, shortly after he was released from a Boston prison, the FBI watched every move Malcolm X made. Their files on him totalled more than 3,600 pages, covering every facet of his life.

Viewing the file as a source of information about the ideological development and political significance of Malcolm X, historian Clayborne Carson examines Malcolm's relationship to other African-American leaders and institutions in order to define more clearly Malcolm's place in modern African-American history.

Perhaps the most fascinating part of reading Malcolm X: The FBI File is discovering what the G-men decided was worth noting about Malcolm Little, aka Malcolm X. They read his private letters, monitored his phone calls, taped his interviews, and shadowed him wherever he went, except to the Audubon Ballroom on the day of his death.

With its sobering, close scutiny of the FBI and the national policing strategies of the 1950s and 1960s and its look at such issues as the relationship between J. Edgar Hoover and black civil rights leaders, Malcolm X: The FBI Files is one-of-a-kind: never before has there been so much material on the assassination of Malcolm X assembled in one place.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The FBI opened its file on Malcolm X shortly after his release from a Boston prison in March 1953. Twelve years later — on February 21, 1965 — he was assassinated in a hail of bullets. Yet his fascinating story survived his violent death — and a vital part of that story is found here in Malcolm X: The FBI File.

This extraordinary work distills the voluminous file kept on the most controversial and charismatic civil rights leader, which ran to more than thirty-six hundred pages. Accompanied by the incisive commentaries of Clayborne Carson, a leading scholar of the American Civil Rights movement, this is a fascinating biographical and historical document, one that sheds light on both Malcolm X and the government compelled to monitor him.

SYNOPSIS

In assembling an incredible mass of raw material, the FBI has made possible a reassembling of the history of Malcolm X that goes beyond the means of any team of researchers. From the opening of his file in March of 1953 to his assassination in 1965, the story of Malcolm X's political life reads like a gripping biography.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

This extensive compilation of FBI reports (with an introduction by Spike Lee) provides a fascinating and often infuriating look at the life and influence of Malcolm X. The files span a period from the FBI's initial report in May 1953 (which detailed Malcolm Little's criminal record and Communist party activities) to the aftermath of his assassination in 1965. This is a valuable historical record, as much for what it reveals about the FBI's political agenda as for new information about Malcolm's activities. Historian Clayborne Carson's long introductory essay, "Malcolm and the American State'' places Malcolm within the political and social context of his time. There is a 30-page chronology of Malcolm's life and corresponding FBI files, a transcript of electronic surveillance logs from 1964, and an appendix that lists brief descriptions of 25 political organizations mentioned in the files. This is an important addition to Malcolm's writings and other recent critical studies of his life (e.g., Bruce Perry's Malcolm: A Life of the Man Who Changed Black America). Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.

Library Journal

This extensive compilation of FBI reports (with an introduction by Spike Lee) provides a fascinating and often infuriating look at the life and influence of Malcolm X. The files span a period from the FBI's initial report in May 1953 (which detailed Malcolm Little's criminal record and Communist party activities) to the aftermath of his assassination in 1965. This is a valuable historical record, as much for what it reveals about the FBI's political agenda as for new information about Malcolm's activities. Historian Clayborne Carson's long introductory essay, "Malcolm and the American State'' places Malcolm within the political and social context of his time. There is a 30-page chronology of Malcolm's life and corresponding FBI files, a transcript of electronic surveillance logs from 1964, and an appendix that lists brief descriptions of 25 political organizations mentioned in the files. This is an important addition to Malcolm's writings and other recent critical studies of his life (e.g., Bruce Perry's Malcolm: A Life of the Man Who Changed Black America). Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.

Booknews

Substantial extracts from the 3,600 page, 19 section declassified FBI file as edited into a narrative of the brief but dynamic career of the charismatic African-American activist. The materials include personal correspondence, newspaper articles, radio and television interviews, sermons and speeches delivered in the cause of black nationalism. With a section-by-section commentary by Clayborne Carson and an introduction by Spike Lee.

The New York Times

These pages allow us to understand better a remarkable orator who, among all his other gifts, was able to listen and grow.

Atlantic News Service