Praise for Roots

“By tracing his heritage back to its African Roots he has done something extraordinary…He speaks not only for America’s black people, but for all of us everywhere.”
–The New York Times

Read the Kirkus Review of Roots

"A compelling book that proves that not all histories 'have been written by the winners'."
–Publishers Weekly

“Overwhelming!...We follow his forbears through the mutilations, sexual assaults and the breakups of families that was their lot under white owners…A compelling and intimately moving literary experience.”
–Minneapolis Tribune

“Throbs with emotion, right up to the end…A great American book!”
–San Francisco Chronicle

“Superb…A lasting achievement…Roots hoists the spirit!”
–Vogue

“Unique and remarkable…It is the epic of the black man in America as told, at long last, by a black man…like any good historical novel Roots gives us a fresh view of history itself.”
–Chicago Tribune Book World

“Dazzling…Extraordinary force…an honest, inspired version of the central story of the nation’s ailing heart.”
–The New Republic

“As a work of research and imaginative reconstruction it is an absolutely stunning achievement…Utterly absorbing, sustained good reading…A book for our time.”
–Baltimore Sun

“Awesome narrative skill…for a long time we have needed a book that would capture our deepest feelings…Now we have it!”
–Houston Chronicle

“Dramatically details slave family life—birth, courtship, marriage, death and the ever-present fear of being sold off and having to leave your kin…the story of the Americanization of the Kinte clan strikes enough human chords to sustain the book’s cumulative power.”
–Time

“An astounding feat!...Roots is not fiction; at least it is not advertised as such. But Haley for the most part uses a novelist’s mien and technique in telling his story. And what a story!...Fascinating…heartwarming…dramatic.”
–Toledo Blade

“Remarkable Tour-de-force!”
–Saturday Review

“A fascinating and vivid story of the life-styles of the Mandingo tribe in Africa and slaves in the United States…Potent and provocative.”
–Milwaukee Journal

“A powerful document…Roots should be read by all literate Americans.”
–The Pittsburgh Press

“A document of great worth ‘true to the truth of the human heart’.”
–Los Angeles Times

“An instant classic…A vital and permanent contribution to our literature.”
–Philadelphia Inquirer

“Fascinating…Exhilarating…Spectacular!”
–Washington Post