Roots
Book description
Now a major BBC drama starring Forest Whitaker, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Laurence Fishburne
Tracing his ancestry through six generations - slaves and freedmen, farmers and blacksmiths, lawyers and architects - back to Africa, Alex Haley discovered a sixteen-year-old youth, Kunta Kinte. It was this young man, who had been…
Why read it?
1 author picked Roots as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
The gold standard of family sagas. A treasure trove of oral history, indomitable spirit, narrative genius, and breathtaking empathy even for those who might not deserve it. A spellbinding combination of scenery, history, dialogue, emotion, and suspense.
The chapter about the ocean crossing aboard the slave ship shook me physically yet held me firmly in place, for I knew I might never experience literature as muscular as this again.
From John's list on multigenerational family sagas.
Want books like Roots?
Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Roots.
5 book lists we think you will like!
Interested in African Americans, sagas, and presidential biography?
11,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about African Americans, sagas, and presidential biography.