Rating: **** 4 stars

Christine Hatt,
Slavery: From Africa to the Americas
Evans 'Documenting the Past'.

Non-Fiction

Ages 10-14

An excellent resource for studying the history of the slave trade in the year that marks the passage of 200 years since the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act [in the UK]. The book concentrates on the traffic between West Africa and the Americas, some 24 million Africans being taken from their homes by force over the course of 300 years. A wide range of original documents is included throughout to bring the story to life, from the diaries of slave owners such as William Byrd of Virginia to the accounts written by slaves themselves. Photographs of original documents are included alongside text extracts which are reprinted in modern type, plentifully annotated with explanations. Martin Luther King has the last word in his famous speech of 1963 ('I have a dream'). A useful sourcebook for classroom and library use.

Sue Unstead
September 2007, No. 166

Guide to the rating system:
***** 5 stars, unmissable
**** 4 stars, very good
*** 3 stars, good
** 2 stars, fair
* 1 star, poor