Loved Uncle Tom's Cabin and this is like a more adult version. Story starts very slowly, but that's part of the point of the book. ( )

This book was such an inspiration to look up your history and be proud of who you are. ( )

A phenomenal best-seller when first published in 1974, Roots is a work of fiction set against the real story of Haley's ancestors, beginning with Kunta Kinte in Africa in the 18th century, his daughter, Kizzy, her son, Chicken George, and down through all seven generations to his own father. It tells the poignant and heart-wrenching story of slavery in ante-bellum America and how Haley's ancestors survived it and rose above the degradation.

The copy I bought was a special 30th anniversary edition published by Vanguard Press in 2007, completely re-typset, and, unfortunately, loaded with typographical errors. I think every American ought to read this book, or at least view the TV mini-series based on it, hugely popular when first produced 30 years ago. ( )

Couldn't put it down! Excellent! ( )

The first part of the book was great. The last third Haley speeds through 3 or 4 generations without giving you any oppritunity to get to know those characters. It needed another 300 pages so you could contrast the hardship of the slave family members wirh the privileged later generations. ( )