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Synopsis
Tracing his ancestry through six generations - slaves and freedmen, farmers and blacksmiths, lawyers and architects - back to Africa, Alex Haley discovered a sixteen-year-old youth, Kunta Kinte. It was this young man, who had been torn from his homeland and in torment and anguish brought to the slave markets of the new world, who held the key to Haley's deep and distant past.
Book details
Published
03/01/1998
Publisher
Vintage
ISBN
9780099362814
Publisher and industry reviews
UK Kirkus review
There are many books about slavery but Haley's account of his family, descended from a West African tribesman captured by slave traders in 1765, to his own generation of African Americans that boasts an architect, a music teacher and a successful author, is unique. It is high class historical reconstruction, thoroughly researched and compellingly readable, above all it is the story of a real family written with a sense of compassion and purpose. Haley is intent on showing both the evils of slavery and the strength that a family can gain from a proper pride in its ancestry. Kunte Kinte, born to a Mandika family in the 18th century, grows up in the luscious surroundings of the Gambia in a strict Muslim village. The rigid code of conduct that was upheld in his religious family forms part of the 'roots' that gave the book its title and Kunte the strength to survive the ordeal of his capture and deportation. There are many wonderful characters among Kunte's descendants: Chicken George, the cock-fighting gambler who wins and loses a fortune training his master's chickens, Little Kizzy who learns to write and forges a pass to help her lover escape, and many others. This is a fair-minded story by a man who grew to love America and dedicates his book to it. First published in 1976 and reissued many times, it is a saga that has much to teach every generation whatever their colour or creed. (Kirkus UK)
About the author
Alex Haley
Alex Haley taught himself to write during a twenty-year stint in the US Coast Guard. He became its first Chief Journalist, a position he held until he retired in 1959 to become a magazine writer and interviewer. His first book was The Autobiography of Malcolm X, after which he spent twelve years researching and writing Roots. Alex Haley died in Seattle, Washington in 1992.
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