Alex Haley was an American author and the writer of the novel 'ROOTS'. He is best known for his book, which was adapted into a television miniseries in 1977. The miniseries won nine Emmy Awards and was one of the most watched programs in American television history. Haley was also the first African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize for his book 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X'. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992.