Ngugi wa Thiong'o: Dreams in a Time of War

A Review by Maya Jaggi, The Guardian  

The early novels of Ngugi wa Thiong'o were revolutionary in depicting the terror of the 1950s state of emergency in colonial Kenya through the eyes of Kenyan civilians. A Grain of Wheat (1967) offered a subtler portrayal of Mau Mau than as mere exponents of senseless violence. This absorbing memoir recounts how Ngugi's boyhood was affected by mass expulsions, indiscriminate reprisals and internment camps, during what he has described elsewhere as Britain's "genocidal war". Yet, infused with a child's curiosity and wonder, this book is also deeply touching in its revelation of a whole community's stake in nurturing a writer.

Angela Davis: An Autobiography

First published in 1974, when Angela Davis was 28, this is as fine a memoir of the 60s and 70s as you'll find. More than that, its a journey from a childhood on Dynamite Hill in Birmingham, Alabama to one of the most significant political trials of the 20th century; from political activity in a New York high school to the Soledad brothers; from the faculty of the Philosophy Dept. at UCLA to the FBI's list of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. A powerful and commanding story told with warmth, brilliance, humor, and conviction. And with a new introduction by the author. 

The Autobiography of Malcom X

Malcolm X's searing memoir belongs on the small shelf of great autobiographies. The reasons are many: the blistering honesty with which he recounts his transformation from a bitter, self-destructive petty criminal into an articulate political activist, the continued relevance of his militant analysis of white racism, and his emphasis on self-respect and self-help for African Americans. And there's the vividness with which he depicts black popular culture--try as he might to criticize those lindy hops at Boston's Roseland dance hall from the perspective of his Muslim faith, he can't help but make them sound pretty wonderful. These are but a few examples. The Autobiography of Malcolm X limns an archetypal journey from ignorance and despair to knowledge and spiritual awakening.

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave

Frederick Douglass was born in slavery as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey near Easton in Talbot County, Maryland. He was not sure of the exact year of his birth, but he knew that it was 1817 or 1818. As a young boy he was sent to Baltimore, to be a house servant, where he learned to read and write, with the assistance of his master's wife. In 1838 he escaped from slavery and went to New York City, where he married Anna Murray, a free colored woman whom he had met in Baltimore. Soon thereafter he changed his name to Frederick Douglass.