Alex Haley: And the Books That Changed a Nation

Norrell (Up from History: The Life of Booker T. Washington) offers a highly readable biography of Haley (1921–1992), famous in the 1960s and ’70s for two bestsellers: The Autobiography of Malcolm X (as a cowriter) and the novel Roots. Norrell traces Haley’s journey from a relatively privileged start as the grandson of a mill owner and son of a college professor in segregation-era Tennessee, through his WWII days in the Coast Guard, to his fraught but successful writing career. Haley emerges in this portrait as “a likable narcissist,” a personable womanizer who left in his wake a string of wrecked marriages, tangled finances, and missed deadlines, such as delivering Roots a staggering 11 years late. Nevertheless, Norrell’s even-handed treatment of Haley, including a dissection of the accusations of plagiarism and fictionalization that dogged the author, reveals a multidimensional and sympathetic human being. Through Haley, readers are also offered a fascinating glimpse into the pre-Internet publishing world. Anyone with fond memories of reading Roots (or watching the ABC miniseries based on it) should enjoy learning about Haley, although, as Norrell admits, this particularly elusive man remains an enigma. (Nov.)