Roots: The Saga of an American Family
             The Saga of an American Family is a now classic book, written in 1976, by Alex Haley. At 680 pages it is not a quick read, but is a bold and extraordinary book that totally captivates and moves the reader. It is the story of a family, supposedly the authors and traces their history from freedom in Africa, to slavery in the United States and then finally back again to freedom.
             Born in the southern state of Tennessee, Alex Haley grew up listening to stories about his father, grandfather, and all the generations before them. His grandmother's stories, always began with an African named 'Kintay'', who had been captured by slave catchers in Africa and brought to 'Naplis' in America. When he grew up, Haley decided he wanted to learn more. All he had was the name 'kintay', and a handful of African words passed on from generation to generation. What followed was years of extensive research. From the National Archives to Civil War records, to African linguistic experts.... and finally to Gambia in West Africa where the novel being.
             Kunta Kinta, was born in Gambia in 1750 to one of the royal families. The rest of the book then chronicles the rich, tragic, and ultimately triumphant history of that family. In the beginning, readers are given a detailed description of the young man's life, family and tribe and his subsequent capture and horrible ordeal as he and others are shipped to America and sold to a plantation owner.
             The transportation of Kunta to the United States is both graphic and unsettling as it tells how he was thrown into the cargo hold of a slave ship where he found himself with 120 other kidnapped people, all naked chained together. They ate and slept in that terrible place which was freezing cold. It began to reek as there was no bathroom and they had to use the wooden floor near them to relieve themselves.
             When the ship finally arrived in th...