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Alex Haley

Roots: The Saga of an American Family Paperback – May 3, 2016

by Alex Haley (Author)

1,755 ratings

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Based off of the bestselling author's family history, this novel tells the story of Kunta Kinte, who is sold into slavery in the United States where he and his descendants live through major historic events.

When Roots was first published forty years ago, the book electrified the nation: it received a Pulitzer Prize and was a #1 New York Times bestseller for 22 weeks. The celebrated miniseries that followed a year later was a coast-to-coast event-over 130 million Americans watched some or all of the broadcast. In the four decades since then, the story of the young African slave Kunta Kinte and his descendants has lost none of its power to enthrall and provoke.

Now, Roots once again bursts onto the national scene, and at a time when the race conversation has never been more charged. It is a book for the legions of earlier readers to revisit and for a new generation to discover.

To quote from the introduction by Michael Eric Dyson: "Alex Haley's Roots is unquestionably one of the nation's seminal texts. It affected events far beyond its pages and was a literary North Star.... Each generation must make up its own mind about how it will navigate the treacherous waters of our nation's racial sin. And each generation must overcome our social ills through greater knowledge and decisive action. Roots is a stirring reminder that we can achieve these goals only if we look history squarely in the face."

The star- studded cast in this new event series includes Academy Award-winners Forest Whitaker and Anna Paquin, Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Derek Luke, Grammy Award-winner Tip "T.I." Harris, and Mekhi Phifer. Questlove of The Roots is the executive music producer for the miniseries's stirring soundtrack.

Print length

912 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Da Capo Press
Publication date

May 3, 2016
Dimensions

8.2 x 5.5 x 2.1 inches
ISBN-10

030682485X
ISBN-13

978-0306824852
Lexile measure

1330L
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Roots

"The book is an act of love, and it is this which makes it haunting."—New York Times

"A gripping mixture of urban confessional and political manifesto, it not only inspired a generation of black activists, but drove home the bitter realities of racism to a mainstream white liberal audience."—Observer

"Groundbreaking"—The Associated Press

"A Pulitzer Prize-winning story about the family ancestry of author Alex Haley…[and] a symbolic chronicle of the odyssey of African Americans from the continent of Africa to a land not of their choosing."—Washington Post

Philadelphia Tribune, 6/7/16
“[A] landmark book.”—Marian Wright Edelman

About the Author

Alex Haley (1921-1992) was a bestselling and award-winning writer whose works, including Roots and The Autobiography of Malcolm X, centered on the struggles of African Americans.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Da Capo Press; Media tie-in edition (May 3, 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 912 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 030682485X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0306824852
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1330L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.01 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.2 x 5.5 x 2.1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #49,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #136 in Black & African American History (Books)
- #385 in Black & African American Biographies
- #759 in United States Biographies

Customer Reviews:
1,755 ratings

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Customer reviews

5 star		86%
4 star		8%
3 star		3%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Amazon Customer

Staggering revelations

Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2018

Verified Purchase

The title of this book says “The Saga of an AMERICAN family.” Every single American, unless Native American, has roots from somewhere else.
As we have learned in these pages, the roots of the Kinte family are African. I am also from an American family - with German roots. My husband is from an American family - with African roots.

I am not directly or personally responsible for any atrocities related to slavery, nor do I personally know anyone who has been the victim of slavery directly. Maybe because of that, I have had an impersonal attitude toward slavery and if I am being honest, I think I resented being lumped together with those of my race that were responsible for it.

I will confess that, although I had heard of Roots and had been aware of slavery’s impact on America, I had not given either the respect they are due until I married my African-American husband. In an effort to understand his heritage, I chose to read this haunting narrative and it will surely haunt me for the rest of my life! The images and emotions portrayed in these pages have changed me.

Having read Roots, I now have a deep conviction of the wrongs that have been committed. It is my prayer that I and those I have influence over will make every effort to do better for all generations to follow. May that be my legacy to my children and grandchildren and beyond, to in some small way, right a wrong and teach a better way.

Every American, regardless of their race, has roots from somewhere else. Every American, regardless of their roots, has a heart, a soul, a dream, a need. Every American loves, hopes, laughs, cries, hurts and suffers in their own way. May God help us all to see the things we have in common and use those things to unite us and build a future where cruelty no longer exists. Yes, that would be a legacy worth leaving!

—— Peggy Lee, Houston, TX

73 people found this helpful

Helpful

T. Kobialka

Don't buy the kindle version. Just don't.

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2018

Verified Purchase

I wish I could seperate my opinion about the book from my unhappiness with the kindle version. The formatting is horrific. I am leaving one star because every page has many typos. However, when I can handle overlooking that, I am enjoying the story. Please fix and update the kindle version. I look forward to updating my review when it is repaired. Thanks!

60 people found this helpful

Helpful

Occasional Customer

Story Fine -- Needs re-edited after poor OCR!

Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2017

Verified Purchase

I read this book (my copy's paper jacket looks a lot -- scuffs and tears included -- looks like the image used as the cover) back in the 70s when the original mini-series was televised. The story is very good, especially the long early section on the childhood of Kunta Kinte.

The story is still just as good but the kindle version must have been scanned in with OCR and never checked! I understand that the book was originally published before PCs and general use of word processors and it is a BIG book but still, if you're going to charge for it, fix it.

The spelling and text errors are appalling. Even just a few chapters in, it's hard to read at times. The letter "l" is often lost with "wel" instead of "well" (sometimes with a space and sometimes without). Spaces in the middle of words is also common -- such as "mar about" rather than "marabout".

There's even the string "1}" in the middle of it with no understanding of why it's there!

Come on, don't ruin a good story because people can't read it! Please fix the editing and send us a good copy of it!

32 people found this helpful

Helpful

Mimi

Don’t purchase unless Amazon fixed the bugs.

Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2019

Verified Purchase

Purchased to read on my kindle. The editing was so bad it was hard to read the book. Sentence structure was a complete mess. It was like they downloaded from one program to another that didn’t quite mesh. I notified Amazon and was told a fix was on the way. I never got it and was stuck with this purchase. Shame on them for ruining such a great read!!

18 people found this helpful

Helpful

mocobe

Get the book, not the Kindle Version!

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2017

Verified Purchase

I'm giving the book 5 stars. This is a very interesting story a family line that goes all the way back to Africa. It shows the hardships and successes of the family and the country. The history is accurate. I really enjoyed this book.

Now with that said after 17% of trying to read this book, I gave up and ordered an audio version. I followed along with the kindle version while listening. It was terrible! Whoever typed this book for e-readers and their editor needs fired. The amount of mistakes was crazy. Names were spelled wrong (Cunta or Kunta? Ole George or OF George? Tom or Torn?), words were spelled wrong (so wrong they were indeciferable), the wrong World War was typed (should have been II): I mean no one looked at this. It was a level of terrible that should make Amazon ashamed.

16 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kathy

The History of an African American family.

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is the story that every American should read! A story that started with an incredible African man who was taken against his will and put on a slave ship headed to America. He had a strong sense of who he was and a strong bond with the family he was forced to leave. His name was Kunte Kinte. His slave takers named him Toby. The story chronicles his life and his child and all their descendants handing down the true story of who they were and most importantly where they came from. Unbelievably the story was so well preserved through the generations that it was corroborated in Africa. As a Caucasian person I’m appalled by what my race put these people through for their own gain! The African-American people are responsible for helping to build the America we all know and love! We owe them our respect for what our ancestors put them through. We all need to look beyond skin color and see each other as equals because we are no better than anyone else.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Stephen C. Foster

A Must Read!

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2017

Verified Purchase

I am embarrassed to admit that I had never read this classic before nor have I viewed either the original or the updated mini-series. Now that I've read it, I'm even more disappointed in myself. This is a powerful story, an emotional journey and a "must-read" for anyone with a social conscience. Disturbing, evocative, emotional, enlightening and enthralling, it opened my eyes and my soul to the brutality of the slave trade and slave life that I had never fully appreciated. So glad I finally got to it.

24 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Nicci

Best Book Ever Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 20, 2017

Verified Purchase

Hands down one of the best books I have ever read. It is actually a good year or more since I read this book but unlike other books that have come and gone this book has stayed with me like no other.
The first hundred pages deals with the birth and life of Kunta Kinte until he is captured. These pages are essential to understanding the enormity of the new and horrific life awaiting Kunta in the plantations. The chapters dealing with the boat trip to America made me feel physically sick by times but I couldn't turn away. Alex Haley did a masterful job of describing the horrific life on the Plantation and of creating well rounded characters that by the end I felt I knew like close friends. Yes this book is a very tough read by times but I cannot recommend it highly enough. Also, I know that to some the size of the book coupled with the small writing might be a bit off putting but please don't let this bother you - it is such a great story that by the end you will actually be wishing for a just a few more pages!

12 people found this helpful

R Helen

Very powerful story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 22, 2017

Verified Purchase

As a story, Roots really draws you in. It's an emotional tale of man ripped from his country and his family and brought to America as a slave. I was really drawn to the character of Kunta Kinta and Alex Haley has written an exciting, sometimes tragic, sometimes heartwarming, story of his family ancestors. I wanted the book to be true, but from the first few pages, I began to get suspicious that the book couldn't possible be all true. How could the dialogue be so specific if Haley never mentions that he found any diaries or that sort of thing? He obviously couldn't, as the African tribes didn't write diaries. I checked it up on Wikipedia and sure enough I discovered that much of Roots is made up. While the basic story is based on Alex Haley's family history, the rest is really fiction. For me, this was hugely disappointing. Had the book been presented as historical fiction, more like Little House on the Prairie, (also based on Laura Ingalls Wilder's life), I think I would have preferred it, than to be mislead to believe that the whole story is true. Obviously, the book is still powerful. While many of the details may have been created by the author, the experience of Kunta Kinte and the other characters was definitely an experience that many Black Americans shared as slaves in the Old South. But knowing it is supposed to be true and it really isn't, is a bit annoying.

Another thing that really annoyed me, was Haley's way of indicating what was happening in the wider world at the time, his way of presenting all the great historical moments (like the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, etc...) This dialogue, where characters would tell what news they had heard or read, was obvioulsy contrived. No slaves (or anyone at that time, actually) would have spoken about those events the way Haley has them spoken about. It sounds rediculous.

And it seems that Haley didn't do his research well here, either, but rather relied on what he had learned in high school, no matter how inaccrate. For instance, in the book the slaves are all talking about how Lincoln (before he is elected President) is going to free them. But anyone with a little knowledge of Civil War history, knows that Lincoln never said such a thing. He had no intention of freeing slaves and was hardly an abolitionist. There were other Presidential canditates who were much more likely to free the slaves. If the slaves had their hopes on anyone, it would have been Seward or Chase, not Lincoln. Lincoln was a dark horse when he was elected at the Republican convention. He was hardly known outside of Illinois. I doubt any slaves were speaking about him the way they did in this book. It doesn't make sense. And there are many other mistakes, as well. It is very poor history.

But no matter these points, at the end of the day, it is a great story. I couldn't put it down. The parts that take place before the Civil War are much more detailed and better written, then the parts after. Unfortunate really, as I would have liked to know more about his family's experience during reconstruction, but nonetheless, I was hooked, and was really sad to see the story end. For anyone who wants to learn about the Negro experience in America, this book is a must read. I would definitely recommend.

3 people found this helpful

C Moore

An epic saga of great scope and worth undermined by terrible quality issues

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2017

Verified Purchase

This is a gripping tale based on historical facts giving a sweeping overview of the slave era. The characters are full-bodied and engaging. However it is dramatically undermined by the horrendous quality of this Kindle edition - I counted at least 28 errors on one (magnified) page - spelling, grammatical, punctuation and ridiculous layout errors such as new paragraphs started mid-sentence and unnecessary spaces mid-word. Decoding slave vernacular is difficult enough without the word 'another' constantly typed as 'not her', double lls being reduced to singles with random spaces mid-word & certain letters being consistently transposed (b for h giving 'bosses' for horses, f for l so 'Ol' Massa' became 'of' mass a' (spacing deliberate). This novel is gripping, but trying to decode the abysmal typography was like learning another language on which Google translate was useless. I'm asking for a refund from Kindle and will buy a hard copy instead.

2 people found this helpful

Redips

Shameful Editing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 12, 2018

Verified Purchase

Whoever edited this book for Kindle should be ashamed of themself - EVERY page contains several mistakes. Words missing letters, punctuation marks in the middle of words, paragraphs separated for no reason, spelling mistakes ...

I'm on the 26th chapter and just about giving up on the kindle edition; my faithful old 1980s paperwork edition may be tatty and worn, but bloody hell it's much easier to read.

5 people found this helpful

Annie Heritage

Notwithstanding the shadows of plagiarism, historical inaccuracy and fictionalisation ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 24, 2017

Verified Purchase

Notwithstanding the shadows of plagiarism, historical inaccuracy and fictionalisation that have befallen this book, it remains a compelling tale. The characters of Kunta Kinte and his descendants are engaging and their story pulls you in so your heart can't help but ache, not only these fictional individuals, but all the real men, women and children who suffered such injustices and atrocities. If I have one grumble, it is that this digital edition is positively littered with typos, to the point where it detracts from the story - caveat emptor, if this kind of thing bothers you as much as it does me!

2 people found this helpful