Five Thousand Years of Slavery - Hardcover

Marjorie Gann; Janet Willen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0887769144 ISBN 13: 9780887769146

Publisher: Tundra Books, 2011

Synopsis

When they were too impoverished to raise their families, ancient Sumerians sold their children into bondage. Slave women in Rome faced never-ending household drudgery. The ninth-century Zanj were transported from East Africa to work the salt marshes of Iraq. Cotton pickers worked under terrible duress in the American South.

Ancient history? Tragically, no. In our time, slavery wears many faces. James Kofi Annan's parents in Ghana sold him because they could not feed him. Beatrice Fernando had to work almost around the clock in Lebanon. Julia Gabriel was trafficked from Arizona to the cucumber fields of South Carolina.

Five Thousand Years of Slavery provides the suspense and emotional engagement of a great novel. It is an excellent resource with its comprehensive historical narrative, firsthand accounts, maps, archival photos, paintings and posters, an index, and suggestions for further reading. Much more than a reference work, it is a brilliant exploration of the worst - and the best - in human society.

About this title

About the Author

MARJORIE GANN, an educator for thirty years, has written language arts curricula, review articles on children's literature, and sat on the jury for the Canadian Jewish Book Awards. She lives in Toronto with her husband and has two grown children.

JANET WILLEN has been a writer and editor for more than thirty years, working on publications ranging from remedial writing curricula to articles on health and safety. She holds a master's degree in political philosophy from the New School for Social Research. Janet Willen lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband

Review

"...the authors weave their narrative around contemporary accounts and documented incidents ... this leaves Richard Watkins' Slavery: Bondage Throughout History (2001) in the dust as a first look at a terrible topic." --Kirkus Reviews

"...an invaluable work that sets slavery into a much larger continuum that predates recorded history and continues even today... [They] are engaging storytellers... Highly Recommended." Val Ken Lem, Ryerson U. --CM: Canadian Materials

Starred Review. "This groundbreaking title brings the disturbing subject into historical and contemporary focus." Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC
--School Library Journal

"An impressive amount of history here ... something to inspire young readers, who will certainly be left with the sobering realization that slavery is limited neither to culture nor period." Deirdre Baker  --Toronto Star

"Encyclopedic in scope and minutely detailed, this...volume takes on the history of slavery from across the globe ... readers will be drawn in by the dramatic biographies and personal testimonies." --Booklist - American Library Association

About this edition

• Publisher: Tundra Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0887769144
• ISBN 13: 9780887769146
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176