Malcolm and Me

By: Ishmael Reed

Narrated by: Ishmael Reed

Length: 1 hr and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1960, Ishmael Reed, then an aspiring young writer, interviewed Malcolm X for a local radio station in Buffalo, and the encounter cost Reed his job and changed his life. In Malcolm and Me, Reed, the author of such classic novels as Mumbo Jumbo and the winner of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, reveals a side of Malcolm X the public has never seen before, and explores how the civil rights firebrand influenced his own views on working and living and speaking out, and left a mark on generations of artists and activists. 

Malcolm X was one of the most influential human rights activists in history and his views on race, religion, and fighting back changed America and the world. Reed gives a clear-eyed view of what the man was really like - beyond the headlines and the myth-making. Malcolm and Me is also an intimately observed look at the development of an artist, and how chance encounters we have in our youth can transform who we are and the world we live in.

©2019 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

not as much as Malcolm X as I hoped.

Mister Reed is a good writer and speaker. but, the book itself didn't get into Malcolm X as much as I hoped it would. on that basis alone I was a bit disappointed.

pretty good

It's a good story but there were so many dates and names being thrown around I kind of got lost several times during the book. It's probably just my adhd but this one was especially difficult to keep up.

enlightening

great history story with original facts in a refreshing lively way. malcolm x brought home

Some history you don't know

In the 1960's Ishmale Reed interviewed Malcom X for a local radio station in Buffalo and right after that interview his show was canceled and he lost his job. From then on his life was changed and goes on a personal journey to discover the civil rights and how the movement left lasting impressions not just on millions of young African American men but also influenced his own life. In this book he tells different stories about Malcom X that the public didn't get to witness, stories from his own encounters that you can't read in any newspaper article or in any published book. It was interesting hearing this book and hearing a bit of history that I never knew about, I am not a big history buff, but I can say when history is told from the eyes of a person who was there and witnessed different events, those are the stories that I really find interesting to listen to and those are the stories that I like to read.

More information thank I expected

I sought this book wondering what else it could tell me about Malcolm X that I didn’t already know. And there it was a greater awareness of how this iconic man influenced the lives and thinking of those who had the privilege of knowing him personally

Great story poor performance

Great story poor performance. Information was very interesting and moving at times but the reader seemed to get carried away and read too quickly and words became indistict. A very lofty vocabulary was used so when words became indistinct and mushy the story became hard to follow.

Unknown to Me

At first I didn’t understand why this wasn’t about M.X, later I understood the author’s purpose. I had never considered that I learned very little about MX and the civil rights movement, as well as his time as a radical Muslims. I did not know he was killed by a member of his own race. I will end up listening to this several times in order to look up some people he mentions. He dedicated this to all the unsung hero’s of the civil rights movement, which I applaud. Thank you.

Fascinating story

Quick listen, fascinating story, and pretty informative. I kinda want more details, because it highlighted so much!

Production values low

This is more about Ishmael Reed than Malcolm X, which is fine. The problem is understanding the narration. Reed reads his own book . . . way too fast. It's muddy too, almost as if he taped it at home and mailed it in. Not to Audible's standards.

Great History Lesson

Great historical references and poignant remarks on historical figures long gone but not forgotten. The story was good, but the narrator lost me at times as he spoke to fast and his words seemed to jumbled together. Ishmael Reed would then catch himself, speak slower in almost a monotone in which his sentence would run on. I finished listening to it, but I became frustrated while listening to him tell his story. Overall, the historical significance and storytelling was good.