Alex Haley

Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was born in Ithaca, New York, on August 11, 1921 as the son of Simon Alexander Haley and the former Bertha George Palmer. Haley's father was a teacher of agriculture. He grew up in Henning, Tennessee, and graduated from high school at age 15. Haley did not excel at school or university. From 1937 to 1939 he studied at Elizabeth City Teachers College in North Carolina and joined the Coast Guard in 1939. He started out as a mess attendant, Third Class, and in 1952 became the first to hold the title of Coast Guard Journalist. After 20 years of service, Chief Journalist Haley retired from the Coast Guard in 1959 to pursue his career as a journalist full-time.

Alex Haley's career exploded in 1965 with the publication of The Autobiography of Malcolm X . Haley had interviewed the minister of the Nation of Islam for Playboy, and these conversations expanded into the acclaimed autobiography.

Malcolm X died shortly before the collaborative effort went to press.

Selected Books by Alex Haley

• Roots
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X
• Marva Collins' Way
• Alex Haley's Queen: The Story of an American Family
• Climbing Your Family Tree: Online and Off-line Genealogy for Kids
• A Different Kind of Christmas