Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade--and How We Can Fight It (Paperback)

~ David Batstone (Author)
Key Phrases: child sex trafficking, global slave trade, public justice system, Srey Neang, United States, Padre Cesare (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Batstone exposes the alarming rise of one of the great moral crises of the day, human slaver. His well-written accounts of victims and survivors will inspire you to join the growing twenty-first century abolitionist movement. -- Ambassador John Miller, director of the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Description

Award-winning journalist David Batstone reveals the story of a new generation of 21st century abolitionists and their heroic campaign to put an end to human bondage. In his accessible and inspiring book, Batstone carefully weaves the narratives of activists and those in bondage in a way that not only raises awareness of the modern-day slave trade, but also serves as a call to action.

With 2007 bringing the 200th anniversary of the climax of the 19th century abolitionist movement, the world pays tribute to great visionary figures such as William Wilberforce of the United Kingdom and American Frederick Douglass for their remarkable strides toward framing slavery as a moral issue that people of good conscience could not tolerate. This anniversary serves not only as a commemorative date for battles won against slavery, but also as a reminder that slavery and bondage still persist in the 21st century. An estimated 27 million people around the globe suffer in situations of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation from which they cannot free themselves. Trafficking in people has become increasingly transnational in scope and highly lucrative. After illegal drug sales and arms trafficking, human trafficking is today the third most profitable criminal activity in the world, generating $31 billion annually. As many as half of all those trafficked worldwide for sex and domestic slavery are children under 18 years of age.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; 1 edition (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061206717
• ISBN-13: 978-0061206719
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,196 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An awful book -- What will you do about it?, March 9, 2007

By	G. Stephen Goode (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been working in Relief and Development for 26 years in Asia, particularly in war zones, refugee situations natural disasters, civil unrest and major social issues like trafficking. David Batstone gives a terrible, graphic picture of slavery in the 21st century from just about every continent. It grabs your heart and will not let you go. This issue will require the same kind of perserverance that William Wilbertforce overcame in abolishing slavery, changing laws and worldviews in the UK in the 18th century.

We have had the privilege of supporting the work of Pierre and Simonetta Tami and the Hagar Project in Cambodia since its inception. We have seen upclose the horror and pain of children as young as 6 years being sold, trafficked and abused. This book tells those stories in graphic, unbelievable detail from countries like Uganda, Thailand and Cambodia. These stories are not about statistics but about people with names and families who have endured hell, been scarred for life or have been killed in the process. You will not believe it, then you will become furious that this is happening today.

It also shows ordinary people that are a voice for the voiceless and are making an incredible, difference. There are just too few of them. Maybe, you will ask yourself, "How do I get involved in this global effort?" This book is a call to action.

Don't buy this book unless you are ready for engagement in a loving, compassionate fight against the evils of the 21st century slave trade.

G. Stephen Goode
Bangkok, Thailand

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Overwhelming but a MUST-READ, February 23, 2007

By	F. Gragg "frankie" (Stillwater, OK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the first book that I've read about this crisis that does not rely on statistics and studies to tell the story of modern slavery. In poignant interviews Batstone reveals the miserable reality of the invisible people who care for the rest of us every day. Modern slaves cook, clean, sew and build our world and in return we turn a blind eye to their situation or even their existence. If you care at all about your fellow human beings you will read this book, share it and take action.

Batstone outlines several ways to take action and lists several resources available to all of us. Their lives and our souls are at stake if we don't start making changes and demanding change in others NOW.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Uncle Tom's Cabin for the twenty-first century, October 9, 2007

By	Mark Cole (West Chester, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is one of those books that makes you want TO DO SOMETHING. Every chapter is a story of a slave, their slave owner, and the person and persons who rescues them. There is too much information and too many statistics to remain unchanged after reading it.

There is a chapter on the invisible children in Uganda who are kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army and forced to kill the adults in their village. The younger girls are given as wives to the older boys. If you caught trying to escape you are gang murdered. Thank God for the work World Vision and other organizations are doing to rescue them! There are chapters about sex slaves who are transported to America and other countries to be prostitutes. This is a well researched book to a huge problem that must be addressed.