Alex Haley and the Books That Changed a Nation

August 10, 2015
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.

August 15, 2015
The making of the author of "the two most important works in black culture in the twentieth century." Alex Haley (1921-1992) rose to fame with two books, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965) and Roots (1976), the basis of a miniseries viewed by as many as 130 million. Norrell (History/Univ. of Tennessee; Up From History: The Life of Booker T. Washington, 2009, etc.) brings a broad background in African-American history to this well-researched portrait of a controversial writer. Haley's early publications appeared in Reader's Digest, for which he wrote profiles of "talented African Americans who had overcome great obstacles and remained humble, unchanged by great success." His breakthrough project, however, focused on a far different man: Malcolm X, the incendiary spokesman of the Black Muslims. Malcolm allowed Haley to write his autobiography, subject to his approval. "A writer is what I want, not an interpreter," Malcolm declared. Malcolm's biographer, Manning Marable, described Haley as "opportunistic, bourgeois, and politically conservative" compared to his subject, and Norrell agrees that Haley aimed "to maximize both its sensational value and its commercial success." Praised by most reviewers, the book sold 2 million copies in its first years. Still, Haley was always in debt, eager for publishing contracts and speaking gigs "to address his financial woes." He once proposed a self-help book aimed at white readers called "How to Co-Exist with Negroes." A more salable project was his own family's history, beginning with their roots in Africa. Haley's editors at Doubleday questioned whether the book was fact or fiction since some passages "were based on Haley's guessing about facts and eliding evidence." The decision to call it nonfiction, Norrell asserts, was a mistake and opened Haley up to charges of misrepresentation. The scandal that ensued dogged him for the rest of his career. An evenhanded assessment of "a likable narcissist" who, the author maintains, changed Americans' perceptions of racial history.

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October 1, 2015

After many years working in public relations and struggling as a freelance writer, Alex Haley (1921-92) coauthored a landmark work of African American literature, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and then followed with Roots, which would make him, for a time, the most recognized writer in America. Billed as the first biography of Haley, this book is more accurately the story of his two most prominent works, with the majority of the title dedicated to the long and complicated research and composition leading to their publication. Norrell (history, Univ. of Tennessee; Up from History) covers the essential facts of Haley's life, relying largely on writings and interviews from Haley. Norrell details the evolution of Haley's relationship with Malcolm X and the struggle to complete the book after his subject's death. Several chapters trace the research behind Roots, the arduous writing process (Haley missed his original deadline by more than a decade), and the controversy that arose when some readers challenged the narrative's veracity. VERDICT With such a strong focus on the writing of Haley's two major works, this book will appeal primarily to readers who enjoyed or were inspired by The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Roots and wish to learn their backstories.--Nicholas Graham, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2015
Alex Haley learned to tell stories on his grandmother's porch. During his childhood in Tennessee, the future author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Roots heard family tales from as far back as the days of slavery. As Norrell notes, Haley would play a major role in shaping the way blacks and whites viewed race during the tumultuous years of the civil rights movement and beyond. Most of Norrell's attention is devoted to those two books, Haley's influences, and the larger context of race relations, with only an incomplete glimpse of his personal life as an adult. But the arc of Haley's career is absorbing, from his discovery that he could make a living as a writer while serving in the Coast Guard to his hardscrabble existence trying to sell freelance pieces. Far from elevating Haley to mythical status, Norrell depicts a writer hounded by financial issues and forever missing deadlines. However, through exploring the black nationalist movement and his own past, Haley found roots not only for himself but also for millions of Americans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)