18 books like Roots

What to read after Roots — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

Torches Together Emmy Arnold · 1964 · 220p · ≈ 7h · Moderate **Not many people talk about "joy" these days.** Emmy Arnold's memoir radiates just that - an enthusiasm for life and an unflagging optimism grounded in faith. In a genre awash in sordid sex and dysfunctional relationships, she offers a refreshing account of a hard life lived victoriously, of people brought together, despite their own weakness and turbulent times, to experience new levels of… Shares Biography & Memoir, History

St. George and St. Michael George MacDonald · 1876 · 450p · ≈ 15h · Challenging It was the middle of autumn, and had rained all day. Through the lozenge-panes of the wide oriel window the world appeared in the slowly gathering dusk not a little dismal. The drops that clung trickling to the dim glass added rain and gloom to the landscape beyond, whither the eye passed, as if vaguely seeking that help in the distance, which the dripping hollyhocks and sodden sunflowers… Shares Historical Fiction, History

Pan Michael An historical novel Henryk Sienkiewicz · 1893 · ★ 5.0 · 542p · ≈ 18h · Challenging The third and final book of Henryk Sienkiewicz’s Trilogy takes a closer and more intimate look at one of the series’ protagonists: Pan Michael Volodyovski. The Polish Commonwealth has been through intense periods of war, and the peace that follows leaves one of its greatest heroes, Pan Michael, finally free to marry his beloved Panna Anusia. But in a twist of fate, she falls ill and dies, leaving… Shares Historical Fiction, History

Marmion Sir Walter Scott · 1800 · 295p · ≈ 9h · Challenging Shares Poetry, History with this book.

Soul on ice Eldridge Cleaver · 1863 · ★ 4.0 · 210p · ≈ 7h · Challenging A collection of essays and open letters written while a prisoner at California's Folsom State prison. Shares Blacks, African Americans, Biography & Memoir

A Raisin in the Sun Lorraine Hansberry · 1958 · ★ 3.9 · 146p · ≈ 4h · Moderate This groundbreaking play starred Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeill, Ruby Dee and Diana Sands in the Broadway production which opened in 1959. Set on Chicago's South Side, the plot revolves around the divergent dreams and conflicts within three generations of the Younger family: son Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, his sister Beneatha, his son Travis and matriarch Lena, called Mama. When her deceased… Shares African American families, Afro-Americans, African Americans, History

Up from Slavery Booker T. Washington · 1900 · ★ 4.1 · 168p · ≈ 5h · Moderate Booker T. Washington, the most recognized national leader, orator and educator, emerged from slavery in the deep south, to work for the betterment of African Americans in the post Reconstruction period. "Up From Slavery" is an autobiography of Booker T. Washington's life and work, which has been the source of inspiration for all Americans. Washington reveals his inner most thoughts as he… Shares Afro-Americans, African Americans, Biography & Memoir, History

River, Cross My Heart Breena Clarke · 1999 · ★ 3.5 · 256p · ≈ 8h · Moderate The impact of a child's drowning on a black family in 1925 Washington, especially on the 12-year-old sister who was baby-sitting the girl. Told against the background of the lot of African Americans at the time. Shares African American families, Afro-Americans, African Americans

The Souls of Black Folk W. E. B. Du Bois · 1903 · ★ 4.3 · 232p · ≈ 7h · Moderate Du Bois' 1903 collection of essays is a thoughtful, articulate exploration of the moral and intellectual issues surrounding the perception of blacks within American society. Shares Afro-Americans, African Americans, Biography & Memoir, History

Song of Solomon Toni Morrison · 1634 · ★ 4.4 · 352p · ≈ 11h · Challenging Milkman Dead was born shortly after a neighborhood eccentric hurled himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt at flight. For the rest of his life he, too, will be trying to fly. With this brilliantly imagined novel, Toni Morrison transfigures the coming-of-age story as audaciously as Saul Bellow or Gabriel García Márquez. As she follows Milkman from his rustbelt city to the place of his family’s… Shares African American families, Afro-Americans, African Americans, Family

Marse Henry : An Autobiography Henry Watterson · 1919 · 325p · ≈ 10h · Moderate Shares Biography & Memoir with this book.

Autobiography

Autobiography Anderson L Staff · 2001 · 166p · ≈ 5h · Moderate Shares Biography & Memoir with this book.

A history of autobiography in antiquity

A history of autobiography in antiquity Georg Misch · 1950 · 364p · ≈ 12h · Moderate Shares Biography & Memoir with this book.

The Library of American Biography Jared Sparks · 1846 · 402p · ≈ 13h · Challenging Shares Biography & Memoir with this book.

Two Sisters Gore Vidal · 1970 · ★ 5.0 · 236p · ≈ 7h · Moderate Originally published in 1970 this fairly short novel (174 pages) contains, according to the blurb on the dust jacket of the first edition, “Gore Vidal’s singular speculations on love, sex, death, literature and politics.” Shares Biography & Memoir

Home as found James Fenimore Cooper · 1800 · ★ 5.0 · 432p · ≈ 14h · Challenging Shares Historical Fiction with this book.

Mr. Nice Howard Marks · 1996 · 468p · ≈ 15h · Moderate Shares Biography & Memoir with this book.

Missing Persons

Missing Persons Mary Evans · 1998 · 176p · ≈ 5h · Moderate Shares Biography & Memoir with this book.

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