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26 reviews for:
Slaves for Peanuts: A Story of Conquest, Liberation, and a Crop That Changed History
Jori Lewis
3.72 AVERAGE
26 reviews for:
Slaves for Peanuts: A Story of Conquest, Liberation, and a Crop That Changed History
Jori Lewis
3.72 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I think that this blurred the line between narrative and history in a way that didn’t work for me. I wanted to know more about the peanut, but I would also have taken a full on historical narrative. But this read a bit dry for me.
I get the sense that this book deserved a title along the lines of What the Fuck with French Colonization in Senegal: Slaves for Peanuts — but that marketing prevailed, believing (probably correctly) that a book about French colonization wouldn’t sell as well in America as a book presented as being more loosely about slavery in general.
In any event: I’m glad it got written, for a dozen reasons. The intro sets the stage: firsthand accounts of life under slavery are rare, so the chance to tell any single person’s story from this time is a jewel. The book threads missionary colonization with European colonization, and tells a bigger story not just about Africans capturing/selling enslaved Africans for export, but about enslaved Africans who remained enslaved in Africa long after abolition in Europe and North America. Had no idea. The peanut seemed like the weakest link of the story in many ways but: still learned a lot there as well.
Jori was a roommate of mine a few years before she first left for Senegal, and we haven’t been in touch in at least a decade. It was a joy to hear her voice in the story and know she’s had the chance to chase this story, explore the world, and achieved publication. No small feat— I hope she feels her ancestors’ pride shining on the effort.
In any event: I’m glad it got written, for a dozen reasons. The intro sets the stage: firsthand accounts of life under slavery are rare, so the chance to tell any single person’s story from this time is a jewel. The book threads missionary colonization with European colonization, and tells a bigger story not just about Africans capturing/selling enslaved Africans for export, but about enslaved Africans who remained enslaved in Africa long after abolition in Europe and North America. Had no idea. The peanut seemed like the weakest link of the story in many ways but: still learned a lot there as well.
Jori was a roommate of mine a few years before she first left for Senegal, and we haven’t been in touch in at least a decade. It was a joy to hear her voice in the story and know she’s had the chance to chase this story, explore the world, and achieved publication. No small feat— I hope she feels her ancestors’ pride shining on the effort.
Couldn’t get my brain to engage right now.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
⭐⭐⭐⭐
It took me a while to work my way through this one. It's a long book, but I found it super fascinating, disturbing, and heartbreaking. I honestly knew very little about slavery, French Colonization, and the history of West Africa. I thought it was brilliant that way this author shaped the history around the backdrop of the "peanut". Well researched. Well written. If you are a history buff (like me) this is definitely worth a read.
**ARC Via NetGalley**
It took me a while to work my way through this one. It's a long book, but I found it super fascinating, disturbing, and heartbreaking. I honestly knew very little about slavery, French Colonization, and the history of West Africa. I thought it was brilliant that way this author shaped the history around the backdrop of the "peanut". Well researched. Well written. If you are a history buff (like me) this is definitely worth a read.
**ARC Via NetGalley**
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
fast-paced