The article defines the importance of the non-fictional text of V. S. Naipaul Michael X and the Black Power Killings in Trinidad in the creative work of the writer. The article provides the features of a journalistic investigation, the history of its creation and the analysis of its place in the bibliography of V. S. Naipaul. The text is also considered as the key to the evolution of the hero and theme in the author’s creative heritage.