Woman, Child for Sale: The New Slave Trade in the 21st Century [Paperback]

Gilbert King (Author), Eleanor Clift (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 2004

Every year, there are more than 4 million victims of human trafficking around the world, from forced prostitution and pornography, to sweatshop and migrant labor. Some estimates put the figure at 50,000 human slaves living in the United States, through fraud, coercion and outright kidnapping, prompting U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to claim that the United States is determined to stop "this appalling assault on the dignity of men, women and children."

But Powell made those remarks back in 2002 and, if anything, human trafficking is on the rise around the world. Today's slave trade is estimated to generate more than $7 billion in annual revenues--all of it "exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable," according to President George Bush, who has pledged millions of U.S. dollars to support organizations working to free these slaves.

Woman, Child--For Sale examines the horrors of these black market operations that kidnap and purchase women and children and move them across borders, erasing their identities and forcing them into a ruinous life of slavery. The book takes an in-depth look at:

* Personal Stories of Rescued Sex Slaves and Survivors
* The New Slave Traders: Who are they?
* The World's Worst Human Trafficking Offenders
* Fighting the New Slave Trade

Woman, Child--For Sale details the explosive and heartbreaking stories behind the nameless, statistical nightmare that is human slavery in the 21st century.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fast on the heels of the State Department's annual report on human trafficking comes this brief but frightening look at a $12-billion-a-year global industry. It's essentially a clip job—King's research into today's slave trade is based on remarks by concerned politicians, news stories and prior academic works, as well as on an exhaustive, chapter-long recap of the aforementioned 2003 Trafficking in Persons Report—but it is a valuable compilation of stories and statistics. A brief look at the history of slavery gives an overview of bondage in the Greco-Roman empire and a timeline of the African slave trade. Short recitations of trafficking case studies—a 14-year-old Thai girl whose promised "good job" turned out to be prostitution, dozens of Peruvian nationals forced to work in factories and turn their wages over to a Long Island family—serve as illustrative but cursory examples. The information here, though cobbled together from prior sources, is inherently thought-provoking and is set forth clearly if inelegantly. Those seeking a quick course in the deplorable milieu of modern slave trafficking will find King's volume useful.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Gilbert King is a photographer and writer. He has been published in the San Diego Union and was an editor for Mirror Magazines. His photography has appeared in New York Times Magazine and New York Magazine.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Chamberlain Bros. (August 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596090057
• ISBN-13: 978-1596090057
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,136,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A must read subject but look elsewhere for your information., April 3, 2005

By 

1reader (Seatle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Woman, Child for Sale: The New Slave Trade in the 21st Century (Paperback)

I was not thrilled with this book. I found the basic information enlightening but didn't get the impression that it was well researched and thought out, just taken from other easy to find sources. I would definitely read more on the subject but wouldn't buy another book by this author. I just read the reviews on one of this author's other books and can see a pattern.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Trite and shallow, July 6, 2006

By 

atgkc - See all my reviews

This review is from: Woman, Child for Sale: The New Slave Trade in the 21st Century (Paperback)

This book does a huge disservice to the serious issue of human trafficking. It is very poorly researched, highly derivitive, and badly written. It does not even begin to grapple with the complications of the global trade in human beings but instead relies on sensation and titillation. I would not accept this from an undergraduate.

There is a real need for accessible information on the subject of human trafficking in order to make individuals, communities and governments aware of what is going on and how they can work to stop this sad trade. Unfortunately this book does not even begin to meet that need.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 2 stars simply becacuse the author picked an important subject, September 6, 2006

By 

L. Willis "trying not to be as stupid as gene... (Modesto, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Woman, Child for Sale: The New Slave Trade in the 21st Century (Paperback)

Lacks just about everything:
insight, depth, substance, reasearch, a professional approach.. It reads like an essay I would have written in high school. Don't waste money on it. Your time (and money) is better spent on Wikipedia.