The Messenger: The Rise and Fall of Elijah Muhammad

by Karl Evanzz

Drawn from recently declassified FBI files, and interviews with family members and former apostles, The Messenger renders a daring portrait of one of African-American history's most controversial leaders.

In this explosive biography, investigative journalist Karl Evanzz recounts the multidimensional life of a semiliterate refugee from the Jim Crow South who became the influential founder of the Nation of Islam. Considered the "Prophet" by his followers and a threat to national security by J. Edgar Hoover, Elijah Muhammad moved four million African Americans to convert to his heterodox version of Islam, and inspired the lives of Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, and Louis Farrakhan. But his increasingly insatiable hunger for power ultimately led Elijah Muhammad down a path of corruption, ultimately betraying his teachings and his devoted believers by womanizing, fathering thirteen illegitimate children, and abetting in the murders of those who criticized him, not least of whom, his chief disciple, Malcolm X.

Genres: Biography, Religion, History, Biography Memoir, Islam, Nonfiction, Race

705 pages, Paperback

First published November 23, 1999

Reviews

[Casey Wesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the destruction of The Nation of Islam. The Messenger is an exhaustive examination of Elijah Muhammad's life. Readers will be able to cut through the murky waters of NOI hierarchy to see Muhammad's relationships with his family, with Malcolm X, with Louis Farrakhan, and with other important figures in the movement. Additionally, readers will understand the various controversies and internal power struggles that have plagued and continue to plague the Nation of Islam. From assassinations to closed-door meetings, Evanzz provides a view not often seen by people outside the organization. The Messenger provides an important take-off point for anyone interested in understanding the Nation of Islam, its role in American life and its relationship to the larger community of Muslims. If read with a critical eye, and a few grains of salt, it is well worth the time.

This is a real good book and I encourage everyone to read this book. It left me with my mouth wide open. I could not put this book down. I never knew what really happened with the Malcolm X assassination. I think that the feds were a bunch of snakes back then and now. They sent in an informant to mix things up and cause confusion inside of the organization. I do not think that I believe that the reason for the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor was to attempt to wipe out the whole white race because of all the things that were done to the black race. I do not agree with the fact that Elijah, as a prophet and leader, was not practicing what he preaches. He did not like Malcolm X for the thing that he was doing but he was the one doing unethical things. I think that Malcolm X was killed because he was to smart and to powerful. With power come evil and jealousy.

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[Books and the Bronx Gurrrrlll · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is that this book blew my mind! It was so fascinating getting to know the history of this snake oil salesman and how coincidence, being in the right place at the right time, and a silver tongue influenced the African-American community, our country, and gave us one of the most amazing almost-leaders of our time in Malcolm.

[Ryan Mclaren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up to help round out reading The Auto of Malcolm X. Very well researched and well written. Not as unbiased as I would like but not too bad. I think this is a must read after the Malcolm X book. Thanks Mr. Evanzz

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my humble opinion this is the best bio on Min Elijah Muhammad, his family and his movement.

[Joe W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of what was said about Clegg's book An Original Man: The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad can be said here, for more see my review of his work at the link above.

Karl Evanzz packs an explosive amount of information into this volume. Much more than a mere analysis of Elijah the Movement or Elijah the Man, Evanzz attempts to set the context in which the NOI developed, chronicling Elijah's life, and attempting to draw connections between the movements and men that surrounded him. He covers the Moorish Science Temple connection, something that Clegg completely disregards. While there does seem to be sizable evidence that Elijah was a member, I find it hard to believe that is was as life changing or such a source of solace as Evanzz' prose would make you think. If that was the case, and Elijah was such a devoted member, he probably would have heard of the schism in leadership after Drew Ali's demise. If he had heard of it, then how could Fard be such a mystery man to him, given that Fard was a supposed successor (however nominal) to Drew Ali?

While both Evanzz and Clegg draw on UNIA influence and mention other messianic figures and movements that preceded the NOI, and Evanzz draws on MSTA connections, no connection whatsoever is made to the early predecessor to both the UNIA and the MSTA, that being Duse Muhammad Ali's Universal Islamic Society established in 1926 in Detroit. Sunni currents present in the US are underscored in Clegg's work, while Evanzz makes hardly a mention of them, much less highlighting Sunni opposition to the NOI as Clegg does. Instead, he present Elijah and the NOI as attempting to court foreign favor and funding. This last point is but contradictory, and warrants further analysis. Why would they court foreign powers, yet espouse do-for-self? Why would, if Clegg's depiction of vehement Sunni opposition to NOI doctrine in public is true, would such foreign power's believe Elijah Muhammad over one of their own, such as Jamil Diab? I feel that Malcolm X here factors into the equation much more than is let on, and that it was probably his insistence that lead to these meetings, not Elijah himself. Add to that that Malcolm quickly reconnected with these people after excommunication, and the picture becomes clearer. It may be, as is suggested about Ernest X McGee (Hamas Abdul Khaalis), that there was a nascent Sunni under current in the NOI, one that sought to change things from the inside out.

This point is lost on the author and he doesn't fully hash out the ramifications of some of his suppositions, however plausible as understood from the sources, and their effects on his work. Had he handled this and other points as he did with Joseph Gravitt Jr.'s (aka Joseph X aka Yusuf Shah) usurpation of power on the NOI's East coast, and his ability to blackmail Elijah based on what he knew of his involvement with the MSTA along with Gravitt Sr., more sense could have been made of this episode and an inner window into the reality of Elijah's relationship with WD Fard would become clearer.
Was the relationship between the two really the hero-worship and eventual deification that became NOI canon, or was it a ruse invented by Fard and Elijah to take advantage of down and out Blacks in depression era Detroit?

Contextualization is a strong point of the book; at times when reading Clegg's work I was unable to relate to the reasons why certain things were while in Evanzz' work the rhyme and reason is easily discernible. Clegg's work almost wholly whitewashes the Black power struggle post-Malcolm/Martin, while Evanzz goes into great detail, almost burdensome at times. However burdensome Evanzz' context might seem, is adds to a holistic view of Elijah Muhammad and the NOI in historical, ideological, and theological context.

For example: Why would a such strong connection be drawn between Asian cultures, and particularly the Japanese, when discussing worldly retribution against the White race?

Obviously, one can just accept NOI theology on the issue, but the context in which these connections were drawn informs us of so much more; a Japanese agent (Takahashi) working to drum up support for the Japanese war effort and cause sedition against the Allied powers was actively influencing Black nationalist movements with rhetoric and financial support. Add to that news of flying saucers and Japanese air power, and a recipe for a highly suggestive narrative is born.

This whole dimension of Elijah's life is left unexplored in Clegg's work, where he characterizes Elijah's days on the run as a result of personal power struggles between him and other Fard followers. Evanzz' brings much more detail, showing Elijah's hegira to be a culmination of his claims to prophecy and succession which other WD Fard followers rejected along with his revisionist theology of Fard's nature, as well as a result of government persecution and pursuit for draft evasion and sedition (a result of his dealings with Takahashi).

This Asian connection, along with the supposition that WD Fard was actually of partial South Asian origin, shows clearly why Fard would describe himself as an "Asiatic" Black man and the effect this would have on NOI theology as a whole.

Evanzz capitalizes on the FBI files on Elijah, Clara, and all the surrounding cast of the NOI and rival organizations. Of course this is used as reason to reject his conclusions by some, and the fact that Evanzz doesn't make his disdain for Elijah and his inner circle a secret certainly does not offer any support to the veracity of his claims. The FBI and police files used do however give very interesting insight into Elijah and his movement, and is almost the sole source for information on WD Fard's connection to the movement outside of NOI canon.

Fard's identity is explored in some detail, and interesting facts are mentioned from non-governmental sources. For instance, Elijah contends that Fard gave him an English translation of the Quran from Pakistan, but Pakistan didn't exist until the early 50's. While neither Clegg nor Evanzz make the connection, Elijah's more than spurious travels to Pakistan from the 50's then on seems to lend credence to either Fard's presence there, or at least the connection that the NOI had early on with the Indo-Pak world (specifically Ahmadiyya movement therein). Evanzz deduces that Elijah's statements exhibit an on-going relationship between the entire Muhammad family and Fard, to the exclusion of Malcolm X. Claims are even made that Fard remained in the US, and Hamas Abdul Khaalis' statement that Fard was present and known to James Shabazz and others is used to give credence to this claim, along with the involvement of people using some of Fard's aliases around the same times and places presented. If his presence was known, but Malcolm X was kept outside of this Fard-ian inner-circle, what would the reasons be? Would not Elijah want Malcolm, whom he considered to be the son he never had, to meet that man (nay god) whom had been the source for both his and Malcolm's transformation? If not, is this evidence of greater collusion?

Evanzz' splices his literally style with fact, narrative, and a bit of vitriol. He goes into much more detail about Elijah's affairs, mentioning intimate details not covered by Clegg. He characterizes Clara Muhammad's indignation of her husband's actions, and presents her feelings in a very personable way. Family life (or lack thereof) is explored in more detail, with Elijah's children being setup for materially by their father but being made wholly dependent on him for any means of success outside the NOI. WD Muhammad's struggle with his father is gone into in much more detail than Clegg, as is Akbar Muhammad's interactions and subsequent departure from the NOI.

His corrosive tone increases towards the end of the book, especially when surfaces. One point is clear, if Malcolm's demise meant the end of righteousness and discipline in the NOI, then the rise of Louis Farrakhan nee Wilcott signals their end. He all but indicts the later of ordering for Malcolm X's assassination and insinuates his involvement of the festering of the criminal element within the NOI. Despite this he only passingly covers Elijah's complacency to this element, and instead focuses on how the largest Black nationalist movement in the USA was increasingly being run by whites, a clear contradiction and what some saw as blatant hypocrisy.

His tone settles when dealing with Elijah towards the end of the book,
where he almost seems to present him as a man whom both time and bad health had whittled away at, characterizing him as softening on his separatist and racist beliefs. Several instances, other than Elijah's famous Savior's Day remarks on whites, exhibit some sort of repentant tone.

The author instead places the onus of blame on Elijah's followers as being responsible for destroying his legacy. The only one to escape this is his son WD Muhammad, whom he credits with being the only credible person to represent Elijah's legacy, not in theological terms, but in having stayed true to the essential do-for-self methodology first espoused by his father, while all others simply denigrated into selfish opportunists insistent on bilking their followers.

This is an essential work on the subject, but is marred at times by stylistics and emotions that peek through the facts and assumptions. Another low point is the haphazard quoting of facts and statements before introducing, or re-introducing, the person involved; this leaves the reader at an immediate loss, and sends him scurrying to reconnect with previous pages and chapters; Clegg's work does not face this problem even once.

Both books offer a wealth of information and personalities that deserve their own works or compilations. Evanzz' is a good addition to Clegg's work, but if your goal is to gain a more holistic idea of who Elijah Muhammad was, it should be just that: an addition to Clegg, not a replacement.

[Ltopo McFly · Rating 5 out of 5]

An impressively researched and sourced biography and takedown of a controversial but mysterious figure. The writer doesn't even pretend to be unbiased in his criticism, which may annoy many and enrage many more fans of Elijah Poole, but I found it sobering because there's such an extremist climate of protection and dogma around this figure who is thoroughly exposed as a hypocrite, religious fraud & responsible for many of the most unsettling murders in the black American Muslim community. Its a very tragic story and Elijah is not given any sympathy, forgiveness or credit for anything and that might have elevated this to an even better rating, but its still factual and honest enough but, most importantly, very clear, dramatic, informative and engaging to read after 3 decades.

[Derrick Pleasant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Eye opening. A lot of American history and black history beyond the story of Elijah Muhammad

[Rafael Suleiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very concise biography of Elijah Muhammad.

[Julio The Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

As George Orwell wrote of Gandhi, "Saints should be assumed guilty until proven innocent". There are two things ticking inside this definitive biography of Elijah Muhammad, founder and leader of the Nation of Islam (NOI), a figure of gigantic importance in American politics and religion. Karl Evanzz does a masterful job of elucidating the origins of one of the most controversial and mysterious figures in American history. At the same time, he engages in spurious and spiteful assaults against his subject, to the point of vitriol. THE MESSENGER dives deep into the man born Elijah Poole, a Georgia sharecropper whose life echoed the trajectory of Black America from field to factory in the Great Migration of 1940-1970 that drew over one million Southern Blacks to the ghettos of the North looking for work. What made Elijah special was his fusion of politics and religion in search of freedom. Marcus Garvey had preached Black separatism. W.E.B. du Bois promoted integration through political and legal action but stayed clear of the Black Church. Elijah found, in the person of his "Savior" W. Fard Muhmamad, or Muhammad Fard, his name changed over time, a faith that elevated the Black man through religion but of another creed, Islam, while avoiding politics altogether in favor of an early form of Black capitalism. Fard claimed to have been born in Mecca and emigrated to the United States. His own brand Islam was a racial creed. The Black man was the original inhabitant of the Earth and special creation. The white man was the product of a devilish plot to pollute the races. Only complete racial separation, and access to their own land, could redeem "the Lost and Found Race of So-Called Negroes in North America". Elijah Poole was starving for such a message, but so were millions of others trapped in Jim Crow America, North and South. Poole's conversion at the hands of Fard, "Allah", and his rechristening as Elijah Muhammad, "The Messenger of God" launched the Nation of Islam, gaining followers among the damned, despised and outcasts of America. Who was Fard? He used at least thirty aliases and attained quite a prison record before meeting Poole. His birthday is still celebrated as Savior's Day by the NOI. Evannz provides strong, if not completely convincing evidence, that Fard was born in the British Raj in India, in the region of modern Pakistan, and that his somewhat pale complexion also speaks of Polynesian stock in his background. After his encounter with Poole Fard disappeared forever, proof to the NOI that he really was Allah. Does any of this discredit Elijah Muhammad and the NOI? Evannz is convinced the religion was birthed by a convicted fraudster. What religion is born without sin?. Similar charges are made by critics of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and the Mormons. Ironically, the television hit piece on the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, "The Hate that Hate Produced", hosted by Mike Wallace, is what drove the Black Muslims into the national spotlight. Many Blacks grooved to his message of empowerment and separatism without endorsing his call for a Black state in the South or pulling their children from inner city schools. With the fiery converts Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali at the forefront the NOI in the Sixties held mass rallies in Detroit and Chicago, owned and operated Black businesses in Harlem, and, although ostensibly non-political, threw its support behind controversial New York City Congressman Adam Clayton Powell. Evanzz thinks this new power corrupted a man whose grip on reality was weak to begin with. Elijah Muhammad betook himself of harems, fleeced his followers finances and most likely conspired in the killing of the "heretical" Malcolm X. His attempt to pass on the leadership of the Nation to either Malcolm or his son Warid frustrated, Muhammad spent the rest of his days in ill health while watching his political influence crumble in the wake of the civil rights movement and the rise of Black elected officials. Still, none of this merits Evanzz's derision of Elijah as "a religious pimp and prostitute" whose decline should serve is an object lesson to future "religious charlatans". Such frothing at the mouth helps little in understanding how the desperate and oppressed will cling to any fantasy, for 2,000 years at least, in the face of a seemingly eternal injustice.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE FIRST TRUE BIOGRAPHY OF THE CO-FOUNDER OF THE NATION OF ISLAM

Author and journalist Karl Evanzz wrote in the Preface to this 1999 book, “It is, in some respects, strange that no authoritative and comprehensive biography of Elijah Muhammad appeared before the centennial of his birth… [Muhammad Ali suggested] that Americans were still unwilling or uninterested in acknowledging Elijah Muhammad’s contributions to African-American history and the growth of Islam in the West. Elijah Muhammad’s impact on the social and religious roads that African Americans have taken is undeniable… but the reasons for the absence of an accurate, thorough biography since his death in 1975 have little or nothing to do with denying him his mark on black history.

“The real reasons are … foremost… the shroud of secrecy that characterized Elijah Muhammad’s relationship with the media and… the iconoclastic nature of the Nation of Islam…. Muhammad’s disciples … were reticent about discussing his life because they were afraid that outsiders would deliberately distort and pervert the portrait of his life… An equally important reason… is that for a long time many scholars and Muhammad’s critics feared the wrath of his diehard followers… The most rational basis for this fear of vengeance was, of course, the assassination of Malcolm X, the first person to publicly criticize Elijah Muhammad.” (Pg. xii-xiii)

He recounts the 1934 trial over the Nation of Islam’s enrollment of their children in the ‘University of Islam’ rather than public schools: “[The judge] found Elijah Muhammad guilty as charged, but placed him on six months’ probation with the provision that he close all campuses of the University of Islam and re-enroll his own children in public schools… As he left the courtroom, Muhammad realized that the real trouble was just beginning… the rumor was that that the police wanted Muhammad and [W.D.] Fard… either dead or out of the city of Detroit. Fearing for his life Muhammad … left immediately for Chicago… Fard was never seen again by most Muslims in Detroit… a leadership crisis forced members to take measures to ensure organizational stability… [Muhammad] began publishing a weekly tabloid titled ‘The Final Call to Islam’ in August of 1934, the first official newspaper of the sect.” (Pg. 102)

By 1960, “Muhammad’s relationship with Malcolm X was becoming combative. By mid-May, more than seventy radio stations across the country were broadcasting speeches by Malcolm X and Muhammad at least once a week. Malcolm felt that his radio addresses should be as candid and fiery as those he usually gave in public… Having the advantage of age and experience, Muhammad was mindful of how Father Charles Coughlin’s unrestrained enthusiasm on his national radio program proved to be his undoing. A radio advertising agent had warned him, Muhammad said, that most stations will not carry the broadcast if it contains ‘our harsh radical stuff’ because they would lose advertising revenue.” (Pg. 219)

He notes, “Chicago NOI officials placed an unusual advertisement in several black-owned newspapers… [in] 1962… [which] challenged anyone with an ‘opinion and solution on the future of the so-called Negro’ to attend a special gathering… After a number of local activists had their say… a Causasian male… asked permission to speak. He identified himself as George Lincoln Rockwell, leader of the American Nazi Party… Booing filled the room as Rockwell waited for a microphone… ‘I believe Elijah Muhammad will solve the race problem,’ Rockwell shouted… ‘We don’t want to integrate… Elijah Muhammad is to the so-called Negro what Adolf Hitler was to the German people. He is the most powerful black man in the country. Heil Hitler!’ … [Muhammad] slowly made his way to the microphones on stage. ‘We don’t need no help from you. We want to help you keep your race all white. We also want to keep ours all black.’ The crowd gave him a standing ovation.” (Pg. 241-242)

He points out, “While Malcolm’s influence grew from national to international, Muhammad’s world shrank. Membership in the NOI continued to drop since no one else had Malcolm’s organizational skills---or his integrity when it came to handling large sums of money. Malcolm’s resilience and success pushed the Messenger closer to the brink of homicidal madness… Muhammad’s attempts to break Malcolm through economic and psychological ploys had failed. Had it not been for growing outside interference, it would have been only a matter of time before the NOI met the same fate as Garvey’s UNIA.” (Pg. 316)

After Malcolm’s assassination, Louis Farrakhan spoke at a NOI convention: “When he first hears Malcolm X, Farrakhan had said, ‘The thought came to my mind that is this man was not God, he was very close to it.’ Nine years later, he had joined the confederacy of dunces that condemned Malcolm as Satan. Little wonder, then, that the Messenger distrusted someone who vacillated to such extremes so easily.” (Pg. 323)

He notes, “The Messenger prided himself on keeping Muslims safe from the violence that was taking the lives of so many black nationalists as the decade drew to a close, and attributed his success in this to his refusal to permit them to bear arms. By and large his strategy worked…” (Pg. 353)

He states, “[Jesse] Jackson’s organizations had received several large grants from the federal government for poverty programs. Muhammad’s people were doing the same work… but were doing so with the nickels and dimes collected from members. In the summer of 1970, the Messenger decided to follow Jackson’s lead. For the first time in its history, the NOI requested government aid for financing job-training programs…. According to the reports, the NOI’s program would be open to all races, and would train recruits in automotive repair, printing services, and similar blue-collar vocations.” (Pg. 365)

For the 1973 Saviour’s Day celebration, Muhammad made a speech that was “a landmark for a very special reason: it was the first time in the forty-three year history of the NOI that outsiders learned something substantive about Fard’s parentage… ‘Fard said his father was a black man… and his mother was a white woman.’ Silence swept over the auditorium. The Messenger then tried to explain how the ‘black man’s saviour’ could be ‘part devil’… Fard’s father concluded that his son could not come to American and resurrect the African American if he was a full-blooded black man… To succeed, Fard’s father reasoned, his son would have to be dark enough to be accepted by blacks and light-skinned enough to be accepted by whites.” (Pg. 394)

He says, “another former prominent Muslim got into a battle with Farrakhan over Muslims who were unhappy about [Elijah’s son] Wallace’s decision to abandon the theology of demonology. Silis Muhammad… the ‘Chief Executive Officer of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam’ … watched Farrakhan and the Million Man March from the comfort of his living room in Atlanta, where his cult is headquartered. Farrakhan, who learned how to preach at Malcolm X’s knee, is the only high-ranking official in the NOI who has grown wealthy. Silis and others have sought to join him, but so far Farrakhan has chosen to keep all the pie for himself.” (Pg. 430-431)

He concludes, “The Messenger’s recorded speeches and old photographs are sold in stores run by Farrakhan’s sect in nearly every major city, and are normally displayed side-by-side with Farrakhan’s books, tapes, and photographs. The signs in the window don’t say so, but ‘Idolatry for Sale’ is the message one gets from visiting these establishments.” (Pg. 440)

This detailed and very insightful book will be absolute “must reading” for anyone studying Elijah Muhammed, the Nation of Islam, or related religious sects.

[Mauberley]

Based on the author's extensive analysis of government (particularly FBI) documents accessed through the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act, Karl Evanzz provides an astonishing look at both the US government's fear of the Nation of Islam's influence but, more importantly, a journey inside that organization. As it existed under Elijah Muhammad's leadership, Evanzz reveals the NOI to have been a thuggish and corrupt organization founded upon a truly zany and hateful 'theology'. In fact, it operated so far from the principles of Islam that much of the Nation's success must be attributed to the lack of anything resembling a strong Muslim presence in America at the time of the Nation's heyday. The story of W. D. Fard is outrageous and the NOI's 'version' of the Islamic faith was able to take root free of critical oversight by Muslim clerics and scholars. The editing of the book is haphazard, resulting in a number of sentences like, 'When the Messenger called him a "hypocrite," it was a signal that hunting season was about to open for all mammals named Malcolm X.' (page 289) The book's reliance on transcripts from FBI wiretaps and reports is understandably biased but the result is a portrait of Elijah Muhammed that is based more on 'facts' than on 'life', by which I mean the sort of material that derives from those who knew him closely and is subjected to the author's analysis and interpretation.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Messenger: The Rise and Fall of Elijah Muhammad provides a vivid account of how Elijah Muhammad's life exemplifies the trajectory of many cult leaders—from the heights of influence to the depths of moral and organizational decay. Elijah Muhammad began as a beacon of hope for African Americans, leading the Nation of Islam with a message of racial pride, self-reliance, and spiritual renewal. Under his leadership, the movement grew, attracting thousands of followers, including notable figures like Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali.

However, as his power consolidated, cracks began to appear in his moral and ethical foundation. One of the most striking examples is the series of extramarital relationships he had with young female followers, resulting in multiple children—actions starkly at odds with the strict moral code he imposed on his followers. These revelations not only led to internal dissent but also tarnished his image as a spiritual leader.

Elijah Muhammad's increasingly authoritarian behavior also contributed to his downfall. He became suspicious of those closest to him, leading to the alienation and eventual break with Malcolm X, who had been one of his most devoted disciples. The rift between them highlighted the growing disillusionment within the Nation of Islam, as more members began to question the integrity and intentions of their leader.

In his later years, Elijah Muhammad's focus shifted from the original ideals of the Nation of Islam to maintaining his personal power and wealth. This shift alienated many of his followers and set the stage for the eventual fragmentation of the movement after his death. The once-unified Nation of Islam splintered into various factions, each claiming to carry on his legacy, but none able to command the same level of influence.

In The Messenger, the rise and fall of Elijah Muhammad serve as a powerful illustration of how even the most charismatic leaders can succumb to the corrupting influence of power. His life story is a reminder of the dangers inherent in cult leadership, where the leader's personal flaws and the demands of maintaining authority often lead to degeneration and the ultimate decline of the movement they once inspired.

[Micah · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this book was awful, especially after reading Claude Clegg's masterful biography, An Original Man. Firstly, this book was poorly written - it read like a 440 page story in the National Enquirer than an actual biography. Secondly, even though he cites his sources throughout the book, I still have a hard time trusting his findings and conclusions. A lot of it seems to be guesswork and wishful thinking, attempting to establish connections where the evidence for them is suspect. Since so much of his information comes from the FBI, it also adds to the skewed nature of his research. While the FBI's recently declassified files certainly have valuable information, to rely on them as much he does seems like a critical error to me. Why would you rely on a group who hated and wanted to tear down Muhammad for the majority of your research? Also, due to the nature of FBI informants during this time period, it seems like hearsay as much as information. Even when Evanzz has information on something I've been wanting to learn about for a long time - the life of Wallace Fard before and after his time in Detroit - I just don't feel confident trusting his conclusions. The most prevalent error is that Evanzz claims on multiple occasions that Malcolm X's father was lynched. Earl Little was not lynched and it only takes ten pages of Malcolm X's autobiography to learn that. I am simply clueless about how one can make that error. Finally, no sense of narrative ever develops throughout this books more than four hundred pages. It just reads like a lot of disconnected tales - themes never arise, while the book sticks to a chronological account it is still hard to follow, and lots of other movements are documented without Evanzz ever really saying how they relate to Muhammad or the Nation of Islam.

If you care at all about Elijah Muhammad, civil rights, or the Nation of Islam, read Claude Clegg's An Original Man immediately. It is a phenomenal read and one of the better biographies I've ever read. However, ignore this book at all costs. It is the longest, worst book I've ever read in its entirety.

[Kelvin Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karl Evanzz wrote a fascinating account of how power corrupts. Evanzz supported his biography of the man responsible for the enormous growth of the Nation of Islam with almost 200 pages of documentation. However, he clearly lost all objectivity toward the second half of the book. Yet, I found this true story to be a compelling one worth reading.

[Daniel Chamberlayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book to read!

[Charlie Rosenthal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly competent biography of Elijah Muhammad. Occasionally feels a bit more like a history of the NOI, but that's fine, considering how central to everything the NOI did Muhammad was.

[Dawn Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a fan of Elijah Muhammad but this book about him is very well written. The author wrote a very detailed, unbiased book on a very sick man.