Draws on new research to trace the life of Malcolm X from his troubled youth through his involvement in the Nation of Islam, his activism in the world of Black Nationalism, and his assassination.

In 1990 Payne embarked on a nearly thirty-year-long quest to interview anyone he could find who had actually known Malcolm X. All living siblings of the Malcolm Little family, classmates, street friends, cellmates, Nation of Islam figures, FBI moles and cops, and political leaders around the world. His goal: to transform what would become over a hundred hours of interviews into an unprecedented portrait of Malcolm X, one that would separate fact from...

Who was heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali's toughest opponent? Was it Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston, George Foreman, or Ken Norton? The foe who took Ali's title, forced him into a premature retirement, and tried to imprison him was the U.S. government which, during the volatile days of the Vietnam War, successfully prosecuted Ali for draft evasion. Montville details Ali's battle, which began in 1966 and ended with a unanimous 1971 decision by the Supreme...