As a result, Roots was credited with dramatically expanding interest in family genealogy.Īfter Roots, Haley continued writing. Though Roots revolved around an African American family, it was read or watched by people of all racial backgrounds who empathized with the main characters. Haley’s star rose further when Roots was adapted into a television miniseries that drew over 130 million viewers, a record at the time.īoth the book and the miniseries have been cited for their lasting impact on American culture. Roots sold six million copies in over 30 languages and won Haley a Pulitzer Prize for literature. While it was soon exposed that the book was partially fictitious, it was nevertheless a literary sensation. The account was also a history of his own search for his past. The narrative concludes with a brief discussion of Haley immediate family in Henning, Tennessee.

In the narrative, Haley tells the story of his mother’s ancestors from Juffure, a small town in the present-day nation of Gambia, who were captured and then placed on a slave ship to Virgniia. After over a decade of exhaustive genealogical research, Haley published Roots:The Saga of an American Family (1976). The book was instantly popular partly because of the subject’s assassination earlier that year, and it is now recognized as a literary classic.Īfter The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Haley’s attention turned to researching the family stories his grandmother had told him. These interviews would form the basis of Haley’s first major work, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965). Playboy subsequently published a number of Haley’s interviews including several with Black Nationalist leader Malcolm X. His first published work, an interview with Miles Davis, was featured in Playboy in 1962.

There, he began to write to alleviate the monotony of life on the ship.Īfter rising to the position of the Coast Guard’s chief journalist, Haley retired from the military in 1959 to pursue a full-time writing career. During World War II, Haley worked as a cook stationed in the Pacific. After graduating from high school and spending two years in Alcorn State College, Haley joined the U. While in Tennessee, Haley’s future work would be greatly influence by his grandmother, who often recited the family history at gatherings. He soon moved with his mother to Henning, Tennessee while his father finished his degree at Cornell University.

Alexander Palmer Haley was born in Ithaca, New York on August 11, 1921. Pulitzer-prize winning author Alex Haley was best known for his historical work, including the widely-acclaimed Roots.

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