Haley, Alex (Vol. 8) - Haley, Alex 1921–
Haley, Alex 1921–
An American journalist, essayist, and historical novelist, Haley first earned his reputation as a prominent black writer in the mid-1960s with the publication of his The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Haley's next major effort, Roots, required twelve years of intense personal research in the United States and Africa, and it is the enormously successful chronicle of his own family's history from slavery to freedom.
The world of ["Roots"] begins in Gambia West Africa in 1750 with the birth of one of [Haley's] ancestors, Kunta Kinte, born of Omoro and Binta Kinte, of the Mandinka tribe, and of the Muslim faith. In the re-creation of this time and place, Haley succeeds beautifully where many have failed. He must have studied and sweated hard to achieve such ease and grace, for he would appear to have been born in his ancestral village and to be personally acquainted with everybody there. The public ceremonies of this people...
[The entire page is 2988 words long]
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