Roots: The Saga of an American Family is a 1976 novel by Alex Haley that traces the life of Kunta Kinte, an eighteenth century Mandinka man captured as an adolescent and transported to North America, and follows his descendants down to Haley himself. The novel spent forty six weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, including twenty two weeks at number one, and its final seven chapters were later adapted into the miniseries Roots: The Next Generations in 1979, following the original 1977 television adaptation of the full novel. The book stimulated wide public interest in African American genealogy and contributed to a broader appreciation of African American history. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Classification
Original Language AwardBancarella Literary Prize 1 AwardPulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards 1 Composed, From (Year) In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: United States, originated there.
- Also in Language Atlas: English, original language there.
Sources
1. Roots: The Saga of an American Family (Wikipedia)
Lead paragraphQuote, Lead paragraph
Roots: The Saga of an American Family is a 1976 novel written by Alex Haley. It tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century Mandinka, captured as an adolescent, and transported to North America. It explores his life and those of his descendants in the United States, down to Haley. The novel was adapted as a television miniseries, Roots (1977).
View the Source Wikidata: Roots: The Saga of an American Family
WikidataWikidata P166: Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards
Wikidata P166 (award received): Pulitzer Prize Special Citations and Awards, 1977.
Wikidata P166: Bancarella Literary Prize
Wikidata P166 (award received): Bancarella Literary Prize, 1978.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.