Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery

Rating this feels so wrong...I hate to give it such an amazing review when the topic is such a difficult subject. This book gives the reader an inside look at the world of "enslaved" people. Even here in the United States, which some might think impossible. The idea of being enslaved is not always the way people think a person can be a slave...the book gives insight to the different types of slavery. A short must read for anyone!

This book is edited by Jesse Sage and one other author. The forward was written by Gloria Steinem, not the whole book. The book contains different chapters written by people who were either held in slavery or were slave owners. There is a chapter about an American girl who was abducted and abused as a young teenager. I have researched this topic for three years and I have not come across an account as disturbing as hers. The fact that her abuse occurred within the U.S. and wasn't noticed/stopped by anyone else (especially hospital staff) is alarming. Her story bridges the gap between what is called "prostitution" when it happens in the U.S. and "trafficking" when it occurs elsewhere. The descriptions of her abuse are alarming. Read her account only if you are prepared to keep each detail with you forever. I recommend "Enslaved" because it describes and categorizes the different types of slavery that are occurring. A plus is that the accounts are written by the people affected by slavery in some form and not sensationalist journalists. Evocative and informative.

Slavery is often seen as a historical issue - but in fact human bondage is very prevalent today, as ENSLAVED shows with its collection of slave narratives written by both past and current slaves and slaveholders from Asia, Africa, the Mid-East and the U.S. 21st century human bondage isn't a common topic but it will prove a unique and involving one for any high school to college-level course in social issues. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch