Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves [J0095]

2005 - PB With some cover wear. National Book Award finalist. Like the author's classic King Leopold's Ghost, this work abounds in atmosphere, high drama, and nuanced portraits of epic antislavery crusaders, heroes, and villains in Britain. It is a taut, gripping account of one of the most brilliantly organized social justice campaigns in history - the fight to free the slaves of the British Empire. In early 1787, twelve men - a printer, a lawyer, a clergyman, and others united by their hatred of slavery - came together in a London printing shop and began the world's first grass-roots movement, battling for the rights of people on another continent. Masterfully stoking public opinion, the movement's leaders pioneered a variety of techniques that have been adopted by citizens' movements ever since, from consumer boycotts to wall posters and lapel buttons to celebrity endorsements. A deft chronicle of this groundbreaking antislavery crusade and its powerful enemies, Bury the Chains gives a little-celebrated human rights watershed its due at last.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "This is one of those great narrative history books: it manages to navigate through many decades, a whole host of key figures, various geographies, and several false starts of an important movement while giving you both intimate and personal details as well as wide scope of the arc of politics and social change."; "Hochschild writes with clarity and heart. The research is deep, but the storytelling keeps you moving. If you've ever wondered how change actually happens, not through war, but through ordinary people refusing to look away, read this book!"; "Well researched and written history of the global slaver trade, mostly from the viewpoint of the British. The focuses on the efforts of a group of people committed to ending slavery. Being from US, the history taught is focused on slavery in the US. So I thought it was mostly a US issue and was unaware of how it played out in other countries, especially in the islands owned by Britain. The book is not an easy read, but well worth it."