Reviews

The Last Slave Ship: The True Story of How Clotilda Was Found, Her Descendants, and an Extraordinary Reckoning by Ben Raines

ahawkins11's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

rebecca_labrador's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

jensen1's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

When I first started this book, I couldn’t believe the statistic that only 13 slave ships have been recovered after 10s of thousands sailed across the Atlantic. However, by the end of the book, the destruction of the remarkable Africatown, Alabama, gives insight into exactly what happens when Black individuals thrive and show their resilience while also uncovering the egregious acts against them. They’re systemically destroyed. 

The Meaher family, to this day, ought to be ashamed of themselves - it breaks me that the remnants of Africatown are nearly gone from physical history. The nearly complete destruction by the Meahers of Africatown to hide their own wrongdoing and guilt culminated in a great loss of historical sites which should have been preserved for generations. Instead, the cancer-causing pollution is what’s left of their legacy. 

The US really needs to re-evaluate what is taught in schools and what we hold in high esteem. Though Cudjo and his kin painfully dreamed of going back to Africa his whole life, I think it’s safe to say he and the founders of Africatown are the best US history has to offer. 

bunkadunk5's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

corvingreene's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

This is an incredible book that covers a wide range of history, from life for Black people before they were captured and enslaved in the US, in Benin, to the experience on the Clotilda, the last slave ship that illegally transported enslaved people after the importation of enslaved people to the US was outlawed. The book covers the lives and experience of these people brought from Africa, and who survived into living memory, so they could be interviewed and their lives recorded. The author covers the founding of Africatown, AL, where most of them settled after the end of slavery, and how that town became a toxic dump site that continues to harm the health and safety of its residents. The author also is one of the people who searched for and eventually discovered the ruins of the Clotilda ship, which its owners tried to destroy in order to hide the evidence of their illegal activities. For a relatively short book, I'm stunned by the scope, and it was an excellent introduction to the topic.

exton68's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

jamesmata's review against another edition

1.0

DNF halfway. Interested in learning about the Clotilda but there has to be a better book out there.

cmartintx's review against another edition

5.0

Thrilling story ...about real history that actually matters today (because time is a flat circle).
Electrifying story of heroic survival & adaptation by the captives.
Jaw-dropping detail of despicable greed & cruelty by greedy men.
Perception-expanding technical explanations & descriptions of the logistics of slavery.
Elucidating connection between sources and destinations of the slave trade.
Touching story of reconciliation & forgiveness.

amandaroberts9697's review

emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

ammbooks's review against another edition

5.0

Fascinating to read about the science behind the discovery of the Clotilde. And informative to read about the founding of Africatown and the current environmental issues they are dealing with.