Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention

One of the United States' most renowned scholars of African-American history, Marable had been working for years on his mammoth revisionist biography of Malcolm X, fighting off illness before dying the week of the book's publication. His book offers a notably divergent perspective on the black nationalist leader from his own autobiography, co-written by Alex Haley, downplaying his criminal experiences and emphasizing his pattern of intellectual transformation. G. Valmont Thomas coolly summons the appropriate scholarly tone for this compelling portrait of a leader never entirely settled within himself. His low, sleek voice, composed and assured, is entirely apt for this adeptly written, copiously researched biography. A Viking hardcover. (Apr.)