Customer Reviews

Slave Hunter: One Man's Global Quest to Free Victims of Human Trafficking

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Aaron Cohen's ability to walk into the most savage and brutally dark places, a virtual hell for little boys and girls: sexual slavery and human trafficking of children as young as seven years old. He frees them: In Cambodia, Mexico, Armenia, Burma, Israel, Iraq, Sudan, and yes here in the US as well. Often these are powerful mafia, drug cartels running intricate lucrative operations- clearly Aaron puts his life in real danger doing what he refers to as
`night-frighting'. This is when he goes to a brothel to collect evidence. Crucial to his mission is to maintain the believability of his virtual `role', Aaron's drug and party-boy past pays off big time for these tiny victims securing the photographic evidence and names mandated for the raids that attempt to restore human dignity to these forgotten souls. The tiny faces play in his mind while alone in his hotel...the agony he endures is palpable. A fascinating yet sobering study on a topic that seems as invisible as the victims who are SOLD.
A must read!!

This is a moving journey of one man's quest to end slavery one soul at a time. The most heart wrenching pieces are the stories about the young girls forced into a lifetime of sexual servitude. The book will make you sick with the immorality of man and move you to want to make a difference. Historical references help give context to the stories told.
And to "coolerhead" who says "I smell a rat"...you should read a book before you write a review and make sure you are informed before you make such harsh judgments of someone who is trying to make and has made a difference in countless lives. I would ask you what you have done to make a difference.

I was previously aware of Sexual Slavery but Aaron Cohen's book Slave Hunter opened my eyes even more. I commend Aaron for what he has done and enlightening people through this book. I now have a much keener understanding on this matter beginning with Slave Hunter and learning about an International president set by the Special Court for Sierra Leone on Sexual Slavery. If a local jurisdiction does not or can not prosecute for Sexual Slavery the International Criminal Court can step in. Presidents of countries permitting, or being part to, Sexual Slavery can be prosecuted as a criminal, e.g. Charles Taylor, former president of Lyberia presently on trial and facing so much time in prison the Special Court probably won't even be in business any more. It will have completed its mission. Aaron Cohen's work has brought many peoples attention to the grievous crime of sexual slavery. Now even International Courts can prosecute perpetrators. I strongly recommend that those who engage in sexual slavery be aware of the penalty they can face. Thank you Aaron for for your direct work in this matter and your book. I recommend people read it even if they don't think sexual slavery is going on in this present day. I guarantee it's occurring right under their nose. One last thing. I know for a fact Aaron Cohen is still involved with his work to bring attention to and stop sexual slavery. "Don't stop", Aaron. -bp

--Blake Parker
Civil & Human Rights Activist
Cambridge, Ma USA

"Slave Hunter" is a smart look at the ugly truth of the human flesh trade, told from the front lines of brothels and war zones around the world. In this raw memoir, Aaron shares his struggle to understand himself and the darkest parts of humanity. He exposes the lies and corruption of mafia-driven cultures who view women and children as exploitable commodities. We see the positions of government officials, human rights activists, and NGOs, often with conflicting perspectives that produce more questions than answers. With tenderness, we hear the heart-breaking stories of vulnerable women and children forever changed by slave employment and prostitution, and the struggles they continue to face once freed. And we learn how Aaron's struggle with drugs, depression and grief ultimately led him from the darkness to the light.

I love the authors' micro and macro perspectives. Brilliantly, Aaron and Christine weave together the threads of life--passion, conviction, political and spiritual understanding--to create a tapestry rich in purpose. I finished the book knowing that every experience of Aaron's life...as an artist, musician, photographer, promoter, activist, drug addict, surfer and biblical scholar, to name a few...prepared him for the work he does today as a "Slave Hunter." An inspiring, passionate read.

This book is a real eye-opener to how prevalent human trafficking is in this modern day world where most American citizens believe that slavery ended with the close of the civil war.
The deeper into the book one reads, the more riveting it becomes.
I admire Cohen's writing style. Too many non-fiction books detailing one's adventures try to throw in bits and pieces of fabricated events or conversation to spice it up, but Cohen seems to stick to the nuts and bolts of his adventures.
However, I do have to question his tales about the 911 calls mentioned in the latter chapters. If he really believes that these calls just came out of nowhere, then he was probably under the influence of some illegal substance at the time.

This is more of an autobiography than about the slave trade. The first chapter and last two or three provide good insight into the working of the criminal underworlds that facilitate the human trade as well as good tactics for "infiltrating" it to rescue the kids/women, but the majority of the book was irrelevant to the subject. The author also raises eyebrows in describing some of his tactics for securing evidence, including taking the madam of a brothel back to his hotel and allowing some of the girls to sit on his lap and fondle him, while never revealing to some of them that he is there to help them. Make no doubt, his goals and actions are extremely comendable in the struggle to end this evil trade, but it was hard to take him seriously sometimes in the book when he would ramble on and on about how he missed the drugs and parties of his rocker days and posed like a kid on halloween in his army-surplus tactical vest, even though it was on a white T-shirt and he had purple aviator sunglasses and salon-style long hair.

This book is riveting. History is woven together with global understanding... cradling the indescribable force that drives Aaron to save and change lives. He is pure light. This book should be required reading for every "free American". Thank you to Christine Buckley for making this book happen, NOW!

This is one of the most eye-opening & disturbing books I have read in a long time. It is time we know what is going on around us and start acting to stop human trafficking and slavery. Once you pick up this book you will have a hard time to putting it down. Aaron dedicated a large portion of his life rescuing girls sold into prostitution and ending human trafficking and slavery around the world. He deserves a Nobel Peace prize (more than Obama). I highly recommend this book.

Overall, the book was long and boring! It started out very good with an account of sex slave trafficking in Asia. The first-hand account was interesting and made me want to learn more about the slave trade. However, the book got very boring, very quickly! The author drones on and on (at least 100 pages worth or so) about his drug addictions, caring for his father, hanging out with rock "stars", and other boring crap. Finally, the last few chapters get back to some more slave stories that are somewhat interesting, but don't sound all that successful. The book ends with a request to donate to the author's charity. It was much more of an autobiography than an enlightening piece on the illicit slave trade business that I was hoping for.

This is an awesome book with plenty of credible information about the global problem of human trfficking. Well written and very insightful.