Historical Dictionary of Slavery and Abolition

(Hardback, Second Edition)

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For almost four thousand years, men and women with power have exploited vulnerable populations for cheap or free labor. These slaves, serfs, helots, tenants, peons, bonded or forced laborers, etc., built pyramids and temples, dug canals and mined the earth for precious metals and gemstones. They built the palaces and mansions in which the powerful lived, grown the food they ate, spun the cloth that clothed them. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Slavery and Abolition relates the long and brutal history of slavery and the struggle for abolition using several key features: Chronology Introductory essay Appendixes Extensive bibliography Over 500 cross-referenced entries on forms of slavery, famous slaves and abolitionists, sources of slaves, and current conditions of modern slavery around the world This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about slavery and abolition.

Reviews

Libraries that own a particular reference work often decide not to acquire a new edition when the topic is a well-established historical one, such as slavery and abolition. However, this update to the second edition is greatly expanded, with bolstered coverage of the often-overlooked history of slavery within Africa and more than 500 entries. For instance, it now includes noted Timbuktu scholar Ahmed Baba and Tunisian ruler Ahmed Bey, among many others.Klein broke out subtopics previously subsumed under broader entries, e.g., 'Assyria' (formerly in 'Ancient Middle Eastern Slavery'). He also expanded many unsubstantial entries.Klein claims that one rationale for this new edition is to illuminate contemporary forms of slavery; however, researchers looking at recent topics would be hard-pressed to find much beyond a few broad entries, such as 'Human Trafficking.' For example, Kleins helpful chronology notes recent activity in Niger and includes the Temedt organization in Mali. . . .[T]his work presents a solid and expanded overview of historical slavery and will be a useful acquisition for academic libraries. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers. * CHOICE *
To cover a topic so vast from the dawn of history to the present in 300 pages or so is comparable to reducing a 30-volume encyclopedia to a single volume; yet, that is exactly what this study does, and the result is a surprisingly useful overview of one of humanitys more enduring institutions. Martin A. Klein is amply qualified for the task, having studied and written on slavery for some 30 years. . . .[H]igh school and college students will find this study helpful, and reference librarians should consider adding it to their collections. * American Reference Books Annual *

Author Bio

Martin A. Klein is professor emeritus at the University of Toronto where he taught African History for 29 years. In 2001, he received the Distinguished Africanist Award of the African Studies Association.