An interesting read on how slavery and the profit it produced were inextricably woven into almost all aspects of early American society. The author demonstrates that slavery wasn't merely a moral failing isolated to a few southern states, it was backbone of American commerce for decades, its implementation and survival were seen as necessary to making white men obscenely rich and indeed keeping the country financially solvent. The half has never been told is an appropriate title for this work, as most Americans (myself included) aren't fully aware of how ubiquitous and monstrous slavery was, nor how complicit the whole country was in its continuance. ( )

Recommended by Hassan Adeeb

Started this after a trip to Louisiana and touring plantations. A book I'm going to have to purchase in order to have time to finish. I can't read it in big chunks as it is really heavy, but so important! ( )

A groundbreaking history demonstrating that America's
economic supremacy was built on the backs of enslaved people
Edward E. Baptist (born 1970) is an American academic and writer.
He is a professor of history at Cornell University, located in Ithaca, New York,
where he specializes in the history of the 19th-century United States, particularly
the South. Thematically, he has been interested in the history of capitalism and
has also been interested in digital humanities methodologies. He is the author of numerous books.

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