Mama Flora's Family - by Alex Haley & David Stevens (Paperback)

About the Book

A family saga centered on an African-American matriarch whose husband was shot for stealing. It follows her descendants as they fight World War II, march for civil rights, join the Black Panthers and help develop Africa.

Book Synopsis

She vowed to find a better world for her children. Even if she had to make it herself.

A sweeping epic of contemporary history by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alex Haley, this magnificent novel weaves an unforgettable story of one family, three generations, and their search for the American dream....

She is the heart and soul of her family who, through faith and courage, drives herself, her children, and her grandchildren onward, determined to propel them to a better place. Mama Flora, born to poor sharecroppers in Tennessee, is forced to raise her children alone after the murder of her husband. But it will not be Willie, her son, who fulfills her ambitions, but Ruthana, the niece she raises as her own. Inspired by her love for the radical poet Ben, Ruthana seeks her soul in Africa even as Willie's son and daughter embrace Black Power and drugs in their embattled coming-of-age. Throughout all the seasons of their lives, it is Mama Flora who prevails, whose quiet determination and love bring them back, as she leads her own quest for justice in tumultuous times.

Review Quotes

"Heartwarming...affecting...Mama Flora herself is as memorable a character as Roots' Kunta Kinte."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Powerful and moving."
--The Boston Globe

About the Author

Alex Haley is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece Roots. With Malcolm X, he coauthored the Autobiography of Malcom X. He died in February 1992.

David Stevens is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter who coauthored Breaker Morant and directed the Emmy Award-winning miniseries A Town Like Alice. He has written several other miniseries, including Merlin, and his off-Broadway play The Sum of Us was made into a movie. He worked extensively with Alex Haley on the screenplay Queen, and after Alex Haley died, he completed the unfinished book.