Alex Haley (1921 1992)" "is the author of "Roots", one of the most celebrated novels of the 1970s. He spent twenty years in the Coast Guard until beginning his writing career working for a range of magazines before becoming a ghostwriter for his first major book, "The Autobiography of Malcolm X". Haley spent years tracing his own family history and decided it went back to a single African man, Kunta Kinte, who was captured in Gambia and taken to the United States as a slave. That research led to Haley s epic book "Roots", published in 1976 to wide acclaim. Haley is credited with inspiring interest in genealogy among African Americans.