How romanticized is the book/film 'Roots' by Alex Haley?

Historians and genealogists have cast doubt on Alex Haley's narrative about seven generations of his family, starting with Kunta Kinte. read more

In the concluding chapter of Roots Alex Haley wrote: To the best of my knowledge and of my effort, every lineage statement within Roots is from either my African or American families' carefully preserved oral history, much of which I have been able conventionally to corroborate with documents. read more

Edward Kosner, reviewing the volume Alex Haley by Robert J. Norrell, said Haley "could have avoided all the grief if he and his publishers had simply labeled the book [Roots] what it was: a historical novel valid in its essential narrative but informed by the imagination". read more

Alex Haley (1921-1992) was a bestselling and award-winning writer whose works, including Roots and The Autobiography of Malcolm X, centered on the struggles of African Americans. read more