- The Observer, Sunday 28 September 2008
- The Slave Ship
- : A Human History
- by Marcus Rediker
- John Murray,
- £9.99
Marcus Rediker attempts to solve the problem of how to write the biography of millions by combining an expert maritime historian's knowledge with the power of primary sources. His stories include that of the slaves forced to live in such appalling conditions that they would slit their throats with their own ragged fingernails, and the sailors left to crawl into empty sugar casks on the West Indian docks, dying from disease or injury sustained during the Middle Passage crossing the Atlantic. But the book keeps a sharp focus on the microcosm of the 'vast machine': the slave ship itself. The epitome of British naval power and the creation of skilled craftsmanship was also a 'diabolical' floating prison: the terrible setting for this gripping 'drama' of human suffering.
