Black Mutiny

Owens, William A.

ISBN 10: 1561007587 ISBN 13: 9781561007585

Publisher: Bookcassette, 1998

Synopsis

"Black Mutiny" is the historical retelling of one of our nation's most dramatic national crises. It is one among many historical sources used in the development of the new motion picture "Amistad." Written as a novel in 1953 by William A. Owens, this is one historian's view of the Amistad mutiny. Based on U.S. government documents, court records, official and personal correspondence, diaries, and newspaper accounts, it tells the true story of 53 illegally enslaved Africans who revolted against their captors. After the Amistad was intercepted and seized by the United States Navy, the imprisoned Africans were forced to stand trial for mutiny and murder in a case that reached the Supreme Court. With its impassioned plea for freedom for all people, "Black Mutiny" brilliantly recreates a critical moment in America's racial history more than twenty years before the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. It is a rousing and unforgettable story of oppression, justice, and the precious cost of human dignity.

About this title

About the Author

William A. Owens received his B.A. and M.A. from Southern Methodist University and his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Before coming to Columbia University in 1947, where he was Professor Emeritus and Dean Emeritus, he taught at a number of schools and colleges, including the Lamar County, Texas, public schools. Mr. Owens was born in Pin Hook, Texas, and the author of several books, novels, and nonfiction.

From AudioFile

Captured by a neighbor in Africa and held captive aboard the Spanish slave ship, Amistad, Cinque is headed for Cuba's plantations. His fortune after recapture, the trials and the well-intentioned delays of white abolitionists, meticulously researched and put into historical context by Owens, should be an engrossing, pivotal episode in history. In this pedestrian account it becomes an ungainly game of fact and fiction. In spite of a passionate performance, Hill's many talents are wasted. He breathlessly wades through language both pedantic and pathetically laced with stilted conversations that may be authentic but ring untrue. The heavy irony of the denouement sinks all. S.B.S. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Bookcassette
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 1561007587
• ISBN 13: 9781561007585
• Binding: Audio Cassette