An Original Man: The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad

Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan get more attention, but Elijah Muhammad indelibly defined the Nation of Islam from the time he assumed its leadership in 1934 until his death in 1975. This much-needed book illuminates the impact of Muhammad's personal history on the movement, particularly its stress on economic independence for black Americans. Historian Claude Andrew Clegg's balanced appraisal acknowledges Muhammad's financial and sexual misdeeds but credits him with promoting racial pride and "moral living." Clegg makes a strong case for the Nation of Islam being "as homegrown as the NAACP or the Ku Klux Klan."