Slavery: Bondage Throughout History [Hardcover]

Richard Watkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 26, 2001 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Since the beginning of civilization there have been slaves. Men and women, young and old, black and white, from China to Brazil and everywhere in between, millions have been enslaved. Richard Watkins traces the countless journeys and trials of slaves around the world and throughout time, and champions those who fought against it and helped shape slave-free nations for future generations.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 6-10-A brilliantly written treatment of an abhorrent topic. Watkins elucidates the concept of "a person [being] owned by another as a piece of property" as playing a significant role in many civilizations from Babylon and Brazil to Native Americans and the Nazis. Students' eyes will be opened by the facts that "slavery hasn't always been racially motivated" and that it still exists today. Short biographical sketches and first-person accounts prove this by highlighting many hideous experiences, including those of a Southern U.S. cotton plantation slave, a forced laborer under Stalin's regime, and a boy killed in 1995 after being owned by a Pakistani carpet maker since the age of four. The text is straightforward while demonstrating an appropriate sensitivity, including a clear explanation of the current practice of child prostitution in Southeast Asia. (Uncharacteristically, the definition of concubine is vague.) Chapters are logically arranged to shed a global perspective on how enslaved peoples have been captured, shipped, sold, and treated for thousands of years; they are also able to stand alone. The numerous illustrations, done in pencil and marker on vellum, are stylized in a grim manner, but are not as strong as the text. This title is the most successful at such a broad aim since Milton Meltzer's All Times, All Peoples: A World History of Slavery (Harper & Row, 1980; o.p.) and is a must for all collections.-Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, IL

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-12. From Spartacus to Frederick Douglass, Watkins discusses how people have been owned as property through history and across the world. His approach is neither by chronology nor geography: rather, he takes a number of comprehensive subjects--capture, trading, law, escape, revolt, etc.--and talks about each one across cultures and civilizations. One chapter discusses the work slaves did and the horrifying conditions of servitude in the Louisiana cotton fields, the mines near ancient Athens, the armies and harems of Islam, and the galley ships of the Middle Ages. Next comes the shock of the word today as Watkins describes the ways brutal slavery still exists. The accounts are detailed (and, occasionally, as in the case of ninteenth-century Haiti, too gruesome), with moving excerpts from personal testimony. The design is extraordinarily spacious; the pages are thick and white, the type large, and there are many black-and-white drawings by Watkins, including scenarios of slave markets and individual portraits. The comparative global view brings a new way of thinking about what's close to home that will be especially useful in world-history classes. Unfortunately, although the time line and three-page glossary are long and detailed, there are no source notes and just a scrap of bibliography. That's a poor model for students' own research and a barrier for those who want to know more. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (March 26, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395922895
• ISBN-13: 978-0395922897
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,071,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good beginning at explaining slavery to younger people, October 28, 2002

By 

TammyJo Eckhart "TammyJo Eckhart" (Bloomington, Indiana United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Slavery: Bondage Throughout History (Hardcover)

In the USA, slavery is tinted by the nature of slavery here from the 15th to 19th centuries. Slavery did not begin in the New World nor was New World slavery typical of the condition throughout history and around the world. Watkins is the first real attempt I've seen at trying to express this reality on the level that a older grade schooler or a junior high student could understand. In 15 short chapters, the variety of slavery is fairly good. However, at least 6 chapters are focused on the New World but these are mixed in with the other chapters making it a bit awkward to follow. There are a few errors in the book and some contradictions that are not explained by the inherite contradictions of human slavery. Frankly the bibliography is horribly brief and very New World focused too. Add into this that the tone is rather judgemental especially about slavery in the modern world. So why 4 stars? This is a very brief book whose target audience is the 14 under group. The pictures are beautiful and I think that Watkins is riding a good balance between too much information and realistic information.