The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X Paperback – October 19, 2021

Great book

Brings to light the many facets of Malcom’s character. Better to understand his life’s work! Opened my eyes to a lot of things I didn’t know!

A masterpiece of narrative journalism. Also a detective story, for those wanting details about how he was so unprotected at the end.

I first read “The Autobiography Of Malcolm X” 38 years ago, in 1982. I have read the book more than 5 additional times, each time offering new insights. The book was so inspiring that I have been obsessed with knowing more about him. I have reviewed a wide scope of works in reference to Malcolm, so it is easy for me to become complacent and to think that there is very little that is ever going to be presented that is new. This new book by Les Payne proves me wrong. I purchased Payne's book on the day of its release (October 20, 2020), and spent the next two weeks patiently going through it, going back and forth re-reading passages, careful to go over things in microscopic detail, all while taking notes. It would be fair to say that I read this book with more care and patience than any other book that I have ever read in my life.One of the reasons I love this book comes from the fact that so many people that Malcolm mentioned in his autobiography were interviewed, years after the fact, to get both their at-the-time thoughts about him and how they feel about him contemporarily. For anyone who truly knows The Autobiography, this is a treat.By choosing his investigative method, Les Payne is able to lay out a lot of new information. There are simply things here that one cannot find anywhere else in print, details that add to the richness that is the Malcolm X phenomenon. This is true of every phase of Malcolm's life, and as a staunch Malcolm supporter, I must say that there are some details here that made me wince and to feel quite sad in contemplating them. There is just so much here that no one else has ever covered in print, including extensive information that comes directly from Malcolm's siblings, who the author spent a great deal of time interviewing. I might also add that this book may well be the first or second best book ever, (along with Baba Zak A. Kondo's book) in terms of the details it uncovers about the behind the scenes planning and execution of the assassination, mainly because Payne actually interviewed people who were very much aware of the assassination's inner workings. There are at least two instances of those giving information in the last two or three days of their lives, as deathbed confessions. To this end, many of the questions I have always asked about Malcolm's assassination are answered. This is simply amazing, so amazing that when read in combination with Kondo's book, one gets a really clear picture of all of the parties who were responsible. Without giving anything away, the book will also make any reader pause and reevaluate Minister Louis Farrakhan's long-term position that he “had nothing to do” with Malcolm's assassination. A careful reader will walk away with his/her own opinion in regards to this, but there is some essential information here, and much to think about. All in all, I am thankful to Mr. Les Payne (and his daughter Tamara!) for doing the homework to put this book out, as I now believe, that after The Autobiography, it is the best book ever to cover Malcolm's life, in all of its complexity. This is a wonderful book. I said, “A wonderful book,” not a “perfect book.”

More than just a historical account, this was a peek into the real life of a historical figure, with real people surrounding him full of real emotions and actions. I kept wanting to put it down thinking it was “just a historical account,” but the writing and story kept drawing me back. An hour would go by and I realized I was still at it. Appreciate that Tamara finished up the work of Les Payne. A very valuable contribution to our lives

Five stars, of course, because of our dear brotha Malcolm! However, zero stars for the actual condition of the book, which has been heavily USED! There are visible dents and marks on the front cover, and stains on the back, and I am not at all pleased with that! I would like to have/own a pristine copy...you know?...the condition I originally ordered in the first place?! But something tells me, because it's Amazon, that I don't stand a chance of receiving nothing of the kind. Disgraceful! Continue to R.I.P. Mr. Shabazz.

With the BLM movement going strong I now have a vastly greater appreciation for why it's a necessary movement and how the roots of it stretch back the way they do. I was never quite comfortable with Malcolm X, now I think I understand the man, his pain, his reasons for being the way he was, and the complexities he had to work through to achieve what he did. After reading this I could only wonder what he might have achieved had he lived on, been given the opportunity to get past the mis-perceptions/conclusions of his past and evolved, as he most surely was towards the end of his life, into a leader white people would have feared less and paid attention to more.Lots of important history here, and if you have an open mind and can absorb what Payne is writing about, you'll come out of this with a greater appreciation for why we're at where we are with regard to race relations in this country. For me it instilled a much greater appreciation for why it's so important that we get past the problems we now have with equitable and historically-minded solutions that can make this the great country we aspire to be, but in so many ways fail to fully achieve, and the systemic racial injustices in this country are surely one huge part of the reason for why we have missed "greatness"

I enjoy reading factional books about not only the distant past, but also about the recent past. I can easily understand why this book was rewarded The Booker Prize. Based upon the book, it seems that the autobiography, (which admittedly I have not read,) is lacking. As an Irish-American I find it interesting that my descendants were also a “minority.”) Far be it for me to compare the hardships my ancestors faced to what African-Americans have and continue to suffer from. But based upon not only this book, other similar books I’ve read recently, in America’s history you were less than human if you weren’t a WASP. I won’t descend into “the mud” as they say, yet I feel an amount of kinship with all the “others” who’s ancestors have been the targets of bigotry. Thankfully I had parents who taught me better.