Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World

If you are over 60 and did not self-educate on slavery,you need to read this book. Believe me, slavery was a barely mentioned topic in elementary school through college. I know this is true for Blacks in the South and probably is true for other races as well. This book is a must read for those non-academics who want to have a better understanding of slavery in America and the Americas. The sexual exploitation and psychological impact of slavery is generally known. This book, however, allows one to get the full picture of slavery from a global, economic and political perspective. There is nothing better for a painful subject like this than finding a reliable (well documented) and easy to read source by a respected author. A great gift for your friends, no matter what race!

Readers of "Inhuman Bondage" have the privilege of entering the mind of one of the greatest living scholars of American slavery. In what truly may be his opus, Dr. David Brion Davis writes not simply a book, but composes a symphony. Like all great composers, Davis blends seemingly disparate notes into beautiful harmony. Wide-ranging, even sprawling in coverage, Davis tells the epic story of the inhuman bondage of human enslavement. Laying the foundation with a captivating and accurate portrayal of the history and philosophy of ancient slavery, the author then moves into the modern era of slavery, first in the "New World" then in America more specifically. "Inhuman Bondage" masterfully weaves together these larger socio-political realities with the very specific psychological realities of groups (such as the Amistad) and individuals. The clear message resonates: even inhuman treatment cannot dehumanize the human soul. In their rebellion (sometimes overt, other times, by necessity, covert and even internal), enslaved African Americans displayed their full humanity. For a brilliantly written, in-depth, comprehensive, captivating narrative of new world slavery, look no further than "Inhuman Bondage." Reviewer: Robert W. Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , Soul Physicians: A Theology of Soul Care And Spiritual Direction, and Spiritual Friends: A Methodology of Soul Care And Spiritual Direction.

This is an altogether splendid book. It is skillfully written such that it is difficult to put down; the notes are voluminous, the maps helpful, the range of information brought together and organized successfully impressive, the opinions of the author clearly expressed, and acknowledgement and credit to other historians generous. Despite this, one does wonder for whom the book was written, surely not the hypothetical general reader. Much more information than the lawyerly standard of what everyone knows is frequently called for. To give just one example, on pp. 265-66, a free black is shown worrying about the effects on him of the Fugitive Slave Law. One drops immediately to how Anthony Burns was hauled through the streets of Boston on his way to Virginia. Is one to infer that Burns was a free black erroneously seized or an escaped slave? And although Davis details how important the religious motivation was in abolitionist thought, nowhere was there any explanation of how this Biblically based thinking, which at this time was largely literal, coped with or was able to get around the clear Biblical acceptance of slavery. And one could wish, particularly in view of their extent and comprehension of various aspects of the subject, that the citations in the notes had been compiled into a bibliography. Nevertheless, I would recommend to anyone who is at all interested in slavery, the Civil War, racism, and a host of associated topics, that they do themselves a favour and read Inhuman Bondage.

This brilliant book is the best one-volume account of New World slavery I have seen, or could imagine. Davis has done something rare here. Having mastered this history over a lifetime of distinguished scholarship, he has now distilled his knowledge for a general audience. Too often, the experts won't, or can't, "popularize," and the popularizers are not expert. Davis is a gifted writer--some of the prose in this book is breathtaking--and an unusually lucid thinker. And so he was able to get his vast knowledge into a tight frame. An earlier reviewer, while acknowledging how "glorious" this book is, complained of digressions. But where that reader saw detours, I found electrifying connections and illuminating comparisons. To survey history is to digress, because there is always more than one thing going on at a time, always more than one current steering events. Slavery is not a pleasant subject, but it is as important to American history as any subject could be. Here we have the book that allows every sincere reader to acquire a broad understanding of this sordid, crucial story. I rarely pay much attention to blurbs on the back of a book. But the testimonial to this book by Harvard sociologist Orlando Patterson bears repeating, because it is exactly right. This is a "gracefully fashioned masterpiece ... simply indispensable ... the glorious culmination of the definitive series of studies on slavery by one of America's greatest living historians."

The only point missing from the description of the book that appears above is the fact that "Inhuman Bondage" is eminently readable. If you care about this country, you must care about its history. And if you care about America's history, you must read this book.