Africans in America - (Harvest Book) by Charles Johnson & Patricia Smith & Wgbh Series Research Team (Paperback)

About the Book

A riveting history of America is told from the point of view of the Africans who arrived in shackles and endured the terrible dichotomy of this new land founded on ideals of liberty but dedicated to perpetuation of slavery. Photos & illustrations.

Book Synopsis

A riveting narrative history of America, from the 1607 landing in Jamestown to the brink of the Civil War, Africans in America tells the shared history of Africans and Europeans as seen through the lens of slavery. It is told from the point of view of the Africans who arrived in shackles and endured the terrible dichotomy of this new land founded on the ideal of liberty but dedicated to the perpetuation of slavery. Meticulously researched, this book weaves together the experiences of the colonists, slaves, free and fugitive blacks, and abolitionists to present an utterly original document, a startling and moving drama of the effects of slavery and racism on our conflicted national identity. The result transcends history as we were taught it and transforms the way we see our past.

Review Quotes

Outstanding . . . It is a triumph of historical research, worthy of a place on anyone's bookshelf.-USA Today

What Eyes on the Prize did for the civil rights movement, Africans in America will do for slavery."-The Village Voice

A magnificent achievement, history at its superb best, brilliantly researched, poetically written, brimming over with original documents that cannot help but move the reader.--Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States