Malcolm X, one of the most complex and enigmatic African-American leaders ever, was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 and died in 1965; Malcolm's life has increasingly acquired a mythic stature (p.3). Malcolm X was one of the Civil Rights Movements most loved and also revered leaders and M. Dyson looks to explore some of the myth and fact about such an influential man.

M. Dyson starts by historically and politically giving background information about the making of Malcolm into one of the most controversial, yet influential figures in the Civil Rights Movement. M. Dyson gives the reader warning, "Malcolm's complexity resists neat categories of analysis and rigid conclusions about his meaning (p.14)"

Dyson starts the book giving a "critical reading" of the books on the Malcolm X. M. Dyson covers different books about Malcolm and does so by placing them into 4 different categories:

c.) Malcolm X as a vehicle for psychohistorical

d.) Malcolm X as a revolutionary figure

M. Dyson aims to critique the different interpretations of Malcolm X and assess the different reasons for the de

As stated before M. Dyson never makes it clear what the meaning of Malcolm X has for our lives. The word that he frequently uses to describe him is "complex." Complexity itself does not explain why Malcolm X should mean so much to us. M. Dyson appreciates Malcolm's ability to be self-critical and to change but he does not explain how this might help our generation to change.

M. Dyson contends that Malcolm X's legacy would be best applied to the development of a carefully textured race-class analysis. The ultimate goal should be the formation of an anti-racist, anti-sexist politics of progressive alliances, especially among People of Color. M. Dyson wants to encourage the reader to look at Malcolm X's for all his masculine magnificence to his inevitable flaws and imperfections.

signation of these roles. M. Dyson looks into the use of Malcolm X in forms of re-creation and reproduction of the 1960's cultural nationalism. M. Dyson explains how they kept from turning Malcolm X into a sort of iconic figure on both the cultural nationalism and multiculturalism aspects. M. Dyson challenges black bourgeois nationalists downplay of Malcolm X's legacy, even as M. Dyson states that these transgressors "that the door of the

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Approximate Word count = 829
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)