Malcolm Lives!: The Official Biography of Malcolm X for Young Listeners

by Ibram X. Kendi, Macmillan Audio (publisher)

"Ibram X. Kendi narrates his well-researched biography of Malcolm X 100 years after Malcolm's birth. Kendi vividly shares Malcolm's family's difficulties..." — Kirkus

National Book Award–winning and #1 New York Times –bestselling author Dr. Ibram X. Kendi brings an American icon to life in the first major biography of Malcolm X for young people in more than thirty years. This program is read by the author.

As a youth, Malcolm endured violence, loss, hunger, foster care, racism, and being incarcerated. He emerged from it all to make a lasting global impact. As a Muslim. As a family man. As a revolutionary. Malcolm’s life story shows the promise of every human being. Of you!

To trace Malcolm’s childhood and adult years, Kendi draws on Malcolm’s stirring oratory style, using repetition and rhetoric. Short, swift chapters echo Malcolm’s trademark fast walk. An abundance of never-before published letters, notes, flyers, extensive source notes, and more give young listeners a front-row seat to his life.

One hundred years after his birth in 1925, Malcolm’s antiracist legacy lives on in this thoughtful and accessible must-read for all Americans. For you!

Just like history, Malcolm lives.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Genres: Biography

Audible Audio

Published May 13, 2025

About the author

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University, and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News racial justice contributor. He is the host of the new action podcast, Be Antiracist.

Dr. Kendi is the author of many highly acclaimed books including Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, making him the youngest ever winner of that award. He had also produced five straight #1 New York Times bestsellers, including How to Be an Antiracist, Antiracist Baby, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored by Jason Reynolds. In 2020, Time magazine named Dr. Kendi one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He was awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the Genius Grant.

Reviews

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a middle grade biography of Malcolm X. While much of what is offered in this biography covers information I'm quite familiar with, this offered a few new pieces of information as well as a fresh perspective on the facts I'm already familiar with. This is written for a younger audience so there's a bit of repetition that can be tiring for older audiences. This offers an interesting perspective on Malcolm's life and is structured in a way that I think would appeal to adults who are unfamiliar with Malcolm's life. If you've only ever seen Spike Lee's movie on Malcolm, this will be a treat for an adult. This is very accessible, well written, and engaging. I highly recommend it for kids and some adults. This is a thorough introduction to Malcolm while also being less distressing than some of the adult centered biographies. I recently reviewed a book that covered his childhood and incarceration in depth and great detail. This is much lighter and more easily accessible to lay readers of history.

This audiobook is narrated by Ibram X. Kendi. Dr. Ibram has a cultured and smooth voice. The advantage of the audiobook is the reader gets to directly hear the author's own excitement and emphasis on words. I truly enjoyed the narration on this. It added depth and I think helps this appeal to the targeted age group. This also offers a rich opportunity for immersion reading, which is a wonderful way to study history.

Thank you to Ibram X. Kendi, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.