Roots
by Alex Haley · first published 1861
43% recommend43% neutral14% critical
Roots is a novel written by Alex Haley and published in 1976. It portrays the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent and sold into slavery in the United States, and follows his life and the lives of his alleged descendants in the U.S. down to Haley. The release of the novel, combined with its hugely popular television adaptation, Roots (1977), led to a cultural sensation in the United States. The novel spent 46 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller List, including 22 weeks in that list’s top spot. The last seven chapters of the novel were later adapted in th
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Roots by Alex Haley. My copy is read, re-read, worn, and well loved. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Haley#Roots
on “Ask HN: What is the greatest book you've ever read?” ↗…also clinical: if you're interested in understanding what it was like to be an African kidnapped and sold via the Atlantic slave trade, consider reading Zora Neale Hurston's Barracoon[1] or Aley Haley's Roots[2]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barracoon:_The_Story_of_the_La... [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roots:_The_Saga_of_an_American...
on “3D model of slave ship brings harrowing history to life” ↗…Check this out, another HNer and I shared some books: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23399364 Adding to it though, other excellent books and writers I think any ally should find the time to read: Roots - Alex Haley Revolutionary Suicide - Huey P. Newton Locking Up Our Own - James S. Foreman Negroland - Margo Jefferson A Raisin in the Sun - Lorraine Hansberry Where we Stand - bell hooks The Future…
on “Black HN: What can allies do to support you?” ↗Agreed, mainly because the period is so alien to many sub-40s Americans today. Also resonant: Islam, race, ugly American politics. It's an easy read, written by Alex Haley, who also wrote Roots. (Don't read the book (Roots) if you can find the more culturally significant mini-series. LeVar Burton was an icon in the US in the late 70s, well before he boarded the Enterprise.) The Spike Lee movie…
on ““Learning to Read” excerpt from The Autobiography of Malcolm X” ↗FWIW I can easily imagine an angry, old white man calling a 30 year old white man 'boy' Have you ever actually seen this? Or, failing that, have you ever read the Alex Haley book "Roots"? or seen the television series based upon? There's an entire scene of protagonist Kunta Kente being whipped savagely as the slave master repeatedly asks "what's your name boy" to dehumanize him and strip…
on “Charter, Comcast don’t have First Amendment right to discriminate, court rules” ↗It used to be a thing for writers. Being on a cargo ship keeps one from distractions. I believe Alex Haley wrote "Roots" on a cargo ship.
on “I crossed the Pacific on a cargo ship and got the digital detox I needed (2017)” ↗That's maybe not the most comforting example – Alex Haley's Roots was both convicted of plagiarism and seemed to be very amateurishly researched, to put it mildly. At least it was called "fiction", although it was sold in non-fiction sections. And the central claim…
on “I tracked down my impostor” ↗…continued corresponding with letters opening with "To my V.I.N." (N being the n-word). Haley later went on to author many notable titles, including The Autobiography of Malcolm X (as ghost-writer) and Roots, which turned into a monumental TV series. Part of the show contains a reenactment of the meeting with Alex Haley and George Lincoln Rockwell, each played by James Earl Jones and Marlon Brando: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8SxzNdX1MQ
on “Miles Davis: candid conversation with the jazz world's premier iconoclast (1962)” ↗Roots was advertised as a fictionalization of Haley's family lore.
on “3D model of slave ship brings harrowing history to life” ↗