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dreesreads 's review for:
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
by Alex Haley
Wow.
I hate to admit I'd never read this book. I was a kid when it was published--and I remember my mom watching the miniseries, but I wasn't allowed to (did I want to? I remember being hustled off to bed asap). Yet, after getting history and geography degrees AND loving genealogy to no end, I still had never read it.
So I decided to. It didn't even take a week.
No, it's not the greatest writing ever--but it's not bad as many have said. And it's high-school level. I couldn't stop turning the pages.
Mostly, though, I think this is a book every genealogist should read. And historian. And American. A masterful example of what one can do with family stories, known facts, and research! And endless amounts of $$ for flying around, but don't we all wish we could go research wherever we wanted? I sure do.
The cultural history of the Mandinka was fascinating--I know plenty of Native American tribes have/had similar oral histories, and it was fascinating to find the matching up of the stories.
I know there has been "debate" over the "authenticity" of his findings. I don't know if they meet the Genealogical Proof Standard. I don't know if the GPS existed when this was researched and written.
It is also simply a fascinating story.
I hate to admit I'd never read this book. I was a kid when it was published--and I remember my mom watching the miniseries, but I wasn't allowed to (did I want to? I remember being hustled off to bed asap). Yet, after getting history and geography degrees AND loving genealogy to no end, I still had never read it.
So I decided to. It didn't even take a week.
No, it's not the greatest writing ever--but it's not bad as many have said. And it's high-school level. I couldn't stop turning the pages.
Mostly, though, I think this is a book every genealogist should read. And historian. And American. A masterful example of what one can do with family stories, known facts, and research! And endless amounts of $$ for flying around, but don't we all wish we could go research wherever we wanted? I sure do.
The cultural history of the Mandinka was fascinating--I know plenty of Native American tribes have/had similar oral histories, and it was fascinating to find the matching up of the stories.
I know there has been "debate" over the "authenticity" of his findings. I don't know if they meet the Genealogical Proof Standard. I don't know if the GPS existed when this was researched and written.
It is also simply a fascinating story.