Alex Haley: The Playboy Interviews

Alex Haley is rather unappreciated these days, as his reputation is unjustly tarnished by issues surrounding the veracity of "Roots." But this collection of his pioneering interviews for Playboy should leave no doubt that this was a fine journalist.The interviews with individuals then prominent on the African-American scene -- Miles Davis, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Brown -- are very insightful. For anyone who happens to be a journalist, or aspires to be one, the book serves as a textbook of a kind. With Miles Davis and Brown -- the ultimate "hip" individuals -- Haley comes off as something of a square, but nonetheless asks questions that elicit thoughtful and candid responses. His interview with Johnny Carson is another highlight. Carson, then in only his fifth season as host of "The Tonight Show," already appears, thanks to Haley's prodding, to be an embittered showbiz veteran, an intelligent man who fully realizes the relative unimportance of what he does for a living. The conversation with neo-Nazi leader George Lincoln Rockwell is a masterpiece. Without losing his own cool, Haley is able to allow Rockwell to expose himself as a complete buffoon, if a dangerous one.Toward the end of the book, you'll find Haley's account of the pros and cons of being the author of "Roots." He doesn't ask for sympathy, but he is realistic about the experience.I'm sorry to see that it's out of print, but if you have any interest in the U.S. during the 1960s, you should make the effort to find this book. You won't regret it.