The Empire of Necessity: Slavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World -- Greg Grandin

from Opinionated

Of course, its not really an untold history. Its been told at least twice before - once by one of the participants, Amasa Delano, and a fictionalised version by Herman Melville, in his book Benito Cerreno, the name of another of the participants. But admittedly, its not a story that is well known...

from fuzzy_patters

Herman Melville's book Benito Cerreno is about a slave revolt on a ship in 1805. Grandin's book is about the history of the real-life event. Slaves revolt on a ship, The Trial, when their ship is discovered by another ship captain, Amasa Delano. Delano's men slaughter many of the slaves, and the ...

from joeltallman

Greg Grandin takes as his starting point the 1805 encounter between Capt. Amasa Delano and the slave ship Tryal, in the South Pacific, a story fictionalized by Herman Melville in his short novel, Benito Cereno. Grandin traces all of the threads that led to the encounter--the lives of the men invo...

from catscritch

This history of a 19th century slave ship rebellion and the culture that brought it about is a harsh reality to examine. Where many thought "Freedom" meant their right to own another human being. To give the latter his rights was in the owner's mind, an attempt to reduce his own personal libertie...

from RhodestoRome

This will be a short review as I am currently deployed and the internet connection here is tenuous at best. This was a highly entertaining and informative volume; Grandin does an excellent job of covering most of the selected topics in an appropriate depth and in an accessible manner. Grandin wea...