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Alex Haley
1921 - 1992 |
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Journalist, writer; born in Ithaca, N.Y. He grew up in Henning, Tenn., studied at
Elizabeth City (N.C.) Teachers' College (1937-39), and became a journalist while serving
in the U.S. Coast Guard (1939-59). Retiring from the service, he established himself in
Los Angeles as a free-lance writer, distinguished by his Playboy interviews. He first
gained some national attention as the collaborator-editor of The
Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965). His highly acclaimed work, Roots: The Saga
of an American Family (1976, Pulitzer Prize) turned out to be a mixture of fact and
fiction but was definitely based on his African-American roots; he had spent 12 years
researching his ancestry and claimed to trace it to a Kunte Kinte, brought as a slave to
America from Gambia in 1767. The book was the basis of a phenomenally successful
television miniseries (1977), for which he received a special Pulitzer Prize and the
Spingarn Medal. A sequel, Queen (1993), also appeared as a book and television
miniseries.
Above bio from Cambridge Encyclopedia Database. Copyright
(c) 1997, AND Reference Data Ltd., Oxford, UK. and The Cambridge Dictionary of American
Biography, edited by J S. Bowmen. Copyright (c) 1995 Cambridge University Press.
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Roots
(Four-Disc -30th Anniversary Edition) (1977)
Click to order via Amazon
Directors: Marvin J.
Chomsky, John Erman
Format: Box set, Color, Full Screen, NTSC
Language: English
Number of discs: 4
Rating: Unrated
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: May 22, 2007
Run Time: 573 minutes
Read an AALBC.com DVD
Review
Plot Synopsis: Based on Alex Haley's best-selling novel about his
African ancestors, Roots followed several generations in the lives of a
slave family. The saga began with Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton), a West African
youth captured by slave raiders and shipped to America in the 1700s. The
family's saga is depicted up until the Civil War where Kunte Kinte's
grandson gained emancipation. Roots made its greatest impression on the
ratings and widespread popularity it garnered. On average, 130 million -
almost half the country at the time - saw all or part of the series.
Actors: Ben Vereen, Brad Davis,
Cicely Tyson, Ed Asner, Georg Brown, John Stamos, Le Var Burton, Leslie
Uggams, Lloyd Bridges, Louis Gossett, Jr., Lynne Moody, Madge Sinclair, Maya
Angelou, Robert Reed, Sandy Duncan
Other Talent: Alex Haley, David L. Wolper,
Quincy Jones, Stan Margulies
Synopsis:
Special Features: Audio Commentary,
Documentaries, Electronic press kit, Featurette, Interviews
Awards:
Emmy - Directing for a Miniseries
Emmy - Film Editing
Emmy - Outstanding Miniseries
Emmy - Outstanding Music Composition
Emmy - Outstanding Supporting Actor
Emmy - Outstanding Supporting Actress
Emmy - Outstanding Writing
Golden Globe - Best Miniseries
Golden Globe: Best Actress in miniseries
Peabody Award Winner - Best Miniseries
Roots
Click to order via Amazon
Hardcover: 688 pages
Publisher: Doubleday;
Reissue edition (September 17, 1976)
ISBN: 0385037872
Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 2.0 inches
This "bold . . . extraordinary . . . blockbuster . . ." (Newsweek) begins with a
birth in 1750, in an African village; it ends seven generations later at the Arkansas
funeral of a black professor whose children are a teacher, a Navy architect, an assistant
director of the U.S. Information Agency, and an author.
From The Publisher:
"It begins
with a birth in 1750, in an African village; it ends seven generations later at the
Arkansas funeral of a black professor whose children are a teacher, a Navy architect, an
assistant director of the U.S. Information Agency, and an author. The author is Alex
Haley. This magnificent book is his."
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 Autobiography of Malcolm X: With the Assistance of Alex
Haley
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Mass Market Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books;
Reissue edition (October 12, 1987)
ISBN: 0345350685
A major resurgence in Malcolm X interest has led to the publication of this special
commemorative edition of the black leader's autobiography. With a new epilogue written by
Alex Haley just priot to his death, this book stands as the definitive statement of a
movement and a man whose work was never completed, but whose message is timeless.
(Ballantine Books)
From the Publisher
"Through a life of passion and struggle, Malcolm X became one of the most
influential figures of the 20th Century. In this riveting account, he tells of his journey
from a prison cell to Mecca, describing his transition from hoodlum to Muslim minister.
Here, the man who called himself "the angriest Black man in America" relates how
his conversion to true Islam helped him confront his rage and recognize the brotherhood of
all mankind.
An established classic of modern America, The Autobiography of Malcolm X was hailed by the
New York Times as "Extraordinary. A brilliant, painful, important book." Still
extraordinary, still important, this electrifying story has transformed Malcom X's life
into his legacy. The strength of his words, the power of his ideas continue to resonate
more than a generation after they first appeared."
Alex
Haley's Queen: The Story of an American Family
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Hardcover:
670 pages
Publisher: William Morrow & Co;
1st ed edition (May 1, 1993)
ISBN: 0688063314 A sequel to Roots, Queen is a history
of Haley's father's family. Part of this work appeared as a TV series.
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Related Links
Haley -- The Master Storyteller Whose `Roots' Ran Very Deep
http://the-tech.mit.edu/V112/N4/haley.04w.html
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