Roots

What it's about

In 1767, Kunta Kinte, a young man in the Gambia, is captured while searching for wood to make a drum, survives the Middle Passage and is sold into slavery in Virginia, where he never stops trying to keep his name and his memory of Africa alive. Alex Haley follows his descendants through seven generations of slavery, emancipation and Reconstruction, down to Haley himself.

Why it's worth reading

It changed how America thought about slavery and family history, and the 1977 TV series became one of the most-watched broadcasts in history. Kunta Kinte's story remains overwhelming.

You'll love it if you liked

The Color Purple, Gone with the Wind or The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration

Good to know

Though based on Haley's family history, it's a novel; genealogists later questioned its accuracy, and Haley settled a plagiarism suit over some passages. It's long and depicts brutal violence.