Alex Haley's novel tracing his family's history back to Africa is Roots: The Saga of an American Family.
Published in 1976, Roots follows Kunta Kinte, a young Mandinka man captured in The Gambia and transported to colonial North America. The narrative then follows several generations of his descendants, ultimately reaching Alex Haley himself. The book combines historical research, family tradition, and fictionalized scenes.
Haley's work drew enormous attention to the history of slavery, the Middle Passage, and African American genealogy. Its 1977 television adaptation became a major cultural event and encouraged many readers to investigate their own family histories.
A common mix-up is treating Roots as a conventional autobiography or fully documented genealogy. Haley called it “faction,” and historians have questioned parts of the claimed lineage and the reliability of some oral testimony. Nevertheless, Roots remains the correct title and a landmark work of popular historical fiction.