#8 The Autobiography of Malcolm X

When I first read this book, it changed my life. While I couldn't subscribe to the notion that the white man is the devil, the man did make some valid points. Whites have dominated others by force and left many non-whites in dependence and disarray. However, with an African-American president in the White House, is this book relevant today? Who knows. What is relevant is X's path to becoming Malcolm X (and then El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz). Growing up poor, being a hustler in Harlem, going to jail where he copied the entire dictionary, becoming the voice of the Nation of Islam and completing the pilgrimage to Mecca. X- traordinary.