Roots : the saga of an American family / Alex Haley ; with a special introduction by Michael Eric Dyson and Alex Haley On the Writing of Roots.
This poignant and powerful narrative tells the dramatic story of Kunta Kinte, snatched from freedom in Africa and brought by ship to America and slavery, and his descendants. Drawing on the oral traditions handed down in his family for generations, the author traces his origins back to the seventeen-year-old Kunta Kinte, who was abducted from his home in Gambia and transported as a slave to colonial America. In this account Haley provides an imaginative rendering of the lives of seven generations of blackmen and women.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780306824852
- ISBN: 030682485X
- Physical Description: xi, 899 pages ; 21 cm
- Edition: First Da Capo Press edition.
- Copyright: [2014]
Content descriptions
General Note: | "A condensed version of a portion of this work first appeared in Reader's Digest."--Title page verso. "Now a major History event series"--Cover. |
Target Audience Note: | 1330L Lexile |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Haley, Alex. Haley, Alex > Family. Haley family. Kinte family. African Americans > Biography. African American families. Slavery > United States > History. African Americans > History. |
Genre: | Biographies. History. |
Available copies
- 13 of 13 copies available at Missouri Evergreen. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Trails Regional.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 13 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trails Regional-Concordia | 929.209 Hal (Text) | 2204841064 | Adult Non-Fiction | Available | - |
Roots : The Saga of an American Family
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Summary
Roots : The Saga of an American Family
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.