Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary

Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary by Walter Dean Myers was published in 1993. It is a nonfiction biography appropriate for middle school and high school students. The 200-page book contains 20 pictures. One fascinating inclusion is a picture of a page in the FBI’s file on Malcolm X.
Walter Dean Myers has won several awards for his novels fabout African-American teens and middle schoolers. He is well respected as an author.
The scope of this book is focused and deep. The chronology in the back of the book charts Malcolm’s life alongside the major events going on in the United States. This is an interesting way to organize the timeline.
Myers’ bibliography contains 14 books, four newspaper articles and four periodicals. Several pages of photo credits are included. An index contains the main topics of the book.
Myers does not use many direct quotes in the book, which is strange. It would seem easy to add direct quotes from someone who spoke so prolifically. The book has a certain distance to Malcolm X, and this would add to his voice. The contents page uses vague chapter titles such as “A New Message” and “The Word on the Street.”
Because Malcolm X is inherently interesting and Myers is so well known among students, the book would appeal to students. A lot of good information is included; particularly, a chapter that compares Malcolm X to Dr. Martin Luther King. ( )

Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary
a biography by: Walter Dean Myers

If you’re like me, and know absolutly nothing about Malcolm X, then this book is for you. Malcolm X started out as Malcolm Little, born in Omaha, Nebraska. His father was a member of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. This is what really changed his whole life. He really just wanted to improve the standing of African-American families in America. He started his journey by joining the Nation of Islam. This really made a big impact. He help the nation grow into many thousand from just a few hundred. He was quite serious. So serious, in fact, that he took the pilgrimage to Mecca. This had some influence in his name change to El Hajj Malik el Shabazz. He felt this would help him feel closer to his religion. He left the Nation of Islam to found and lead his own African-American improvement association. When he was becoming more and more influencial, he started to receive death threats. He was so concerned that he started to carry a loaded gun in and around his house. I liked this book so I would recommend this book to people, it is explanatory and easy to read. ( )

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