Roots: The Saga of an American Family Add a review

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). The novel spent forty-six weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list, including twenty-two weeks at number one.

The last seven chapters of the novel were later adapted in the form of a second miniseries, Roots: The Next Generations (1979). It stimulated interest in African American genealogy and an appreciation for African American history.