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jakram's review against another edition
3.0
Slavery under a microscope via one key mutiny. Kind of dry, but still worth a look.
wmartinie76's review against another edition
3.0
A fascinating look at the true story of the events that inspired Herman Melville's masterpiece novella "Benito Cereno". Off the coast of Chile in 1804, an American sealing ship stumbles across a Spanish slave ship. The American captain is initially fooled to think the ship just needs provisions only to discover that the slaves on board are acting servile but have really taken over the ship in insurrection. What commences next is a tragedy and a horror. While the book is chalk full of history and I learned a ton about the trans Atlantic slave trade, the ecological disaster of the sealing industry, maritime law and piracy, and more, the book never quite came together as a coherent and unified narrative. The author seems to want to point out the ironies of an age that describes itself as enlightened and for liberty, but he gets distracted from this focus by trying to cover so much historical minutiae. Informative but leaving you wanting something more. 2.9 Martinie glasses.
abeanbg's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting without ever really catching fire for me. The book examines the explosion of slavery at the dawn of the 1800's, even as the American and French Revolutions were spreading the ideas of humanism and the Enlightenment around the globe. Some really fascinating anecdotes, and the central incident about the slave revolt on the Tryal (which inspired Mellville's Beneto Cereno) is captivating.
seattlecubsfan's review against another edition
5.0
A truly fascinating book that puts slavery in a global context. Using a slave rebellion on a ship off the coast of Chile as the central event, the author shows how the economic institution of slavery extended its tendrils throughout the world, making virtually anyone participating in any marketplace complicit in the evils of slavery. Sobering and fascinating, there are some obvious parallels to everyone's complicity in climate change (he writes sitting at a computer with the lights on and the furnace working).
romysvx's review against another edition
2.0
Szukacie solidnej książki, która poszerzy Waszą wiedzę o niewolnictwie? To pozycję Grandina śmiało możecie sobie odpuścić. W „Imperium konieczności”, wbrew temu co zapowiada opis, samego przemysłu niewolniczego jest jak na lekarstwo. Autor poświęca temu tematowi - jedną szóstą? jedną siódmą? - całej książki. Dosłownie ułamek. Lwią część „Imperium” stanowi biografia żyjącego na przełomie XIII i XIX wieku kapitana Amasy Delano. A, że Delano do najcharyzmatyczniejszych jednostek nie należał, a i życie wiódł całkiem przeciętne i pozbawione jakiś bardziej ekscytujących przygód, to i czyta się to bez większych emocji, za to ze zniżeniem. Co jakiś czas Grandin pokusi się o kolejne dygresje od przewodniego tematu poświęcając pokaźne fragmenty, a nawet całe rozdziały, opisom miasta Montevideo czy polowań na foki. I teoretycznie w pewien sposób łączą się te tematy z niewolnictwem, jednak są to połączenia wyjątkowo grubymi nićmi szyte. Bo do portu w Montevideo zawijały statki z niewolnikami, a uczestnikami polowań na foki często byli przemytnicy. I nie zapominajmy, że do polowań na foki używa się statków, a niewolnicy też są przewożeni na statkach. Łapiecie powiązanie? Brzmi śmiesznie, ale właśnie takie jest rozumowanie i argumentacja autora. Tylko, że idąc tym tokiem myślenia to można napisać książkę popularnonaukową o kosmosie i 3/4 rozdziałów poświęcić biografii Jarosława Kaczyńskiego (bo przecież on z bratem księżyc kradł w dzieciństwie!). W skrócie, pozycja o masie innych rzeczy tylko nie o niewolnictwie.
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psychohobbit's review against another edition
4.0
This is a very interesting study of an 1804 slave uprising on a ship. The uniqueness is that this ship encountered another ship, and the slaves were able to control the captain and pose as if they were still slaves to fool the other ship's captain (they had a head start as he was a fairly oblivious fellow and as a man of his times couldn't imagine such a thing)during a day visit on the taken ship. Herman Melville took the original event and turned it into a novella although altered for his own literary purposes. The author has stretched this event into a very readable, although horrific, examination of an age of individual freedom intertwined with exploiting others, either through slavery or enforced labor very similar to slavery, to achieve that freedom. No details are spared to show the brutality of slavery nor should they be. This book is every bit as brutal depicting seal hunting. Understanding the background is important to understanding the story. I found the author insightful and quickly understood the rather odd title of this book and the duality of freedom and slavery during this post-revolutionary (American and French). I rated this at 4 stars instead of 5 as at times, as mentioned before, the book seems 'stretched' by filler material such as Darwin's observations when traveling decades later. This bit of rambling as well as some others kind of led me off the basic track involving the central course of events.
nauminous's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating, gripping in-depth exploration of the players and context of the 1805 event where Captain Amasa Delano (FDR ancestor) & ship encounter a Spanish ship, off the coast of S. America, whose slaves mutinied and enacted a ruse that captain Cerreno was still in charge, and not them actually calling the shots. The incident was immortalized in a Herman Melville (*Moby Dick* author) novella, though it takes some liberties with Delano's memoir recollection of the event.
Grandin possesses a compelling writing style as he profiles the principle players, politics of the age, the prism of which Melville was peering from almost 50 years later, the paradox of the dawn of Age of Liberty coinciding with the massive uptick in slave trade, the life of a sealer (and whalers) captains and crew, the seeds of liberty blown by American revolution, etc.
Grandin possesses a compelling writing style as he profiles the principle players, politics of the age, the prism of which Melville was peering from almost 50 years later, the paradox of the dawn of Age of Liberty coinciding with the massive uptick in slave trade, the life of a sealer (and whalers) captains and crew, the seeds of liberty blown by American revolution, etc.
dclark32's review against another edition
3.0
Grandin has burned the midnight oil conducting research for this book and he has a talent for descriptive prose, but I really don't understand the book's organizational logic. I think the book is about slavery, but I'm honestly not certain. He mines the lives of the principal actors in a particularly dramatic slave revolt for insights on the workings of slavery at the beginning of the 19th century, but gets so bogged down in tangential details that the narrative thread is lost for chapters at a time. There is hardly an aspect of his characters' lives that Grandin does not see fit to include.
Thus, in a relatively modest book (273 pages before notes), we get four chapters on sealing, extended interludes about Herman Melville, an epilogue about the history of the United States (Empire of Necessity is concerned with South America), and extended discussions about everything from maritime insurance practices to the religious views of Amasa Delano's brother. It is really quite bizarre. I learned a lot, yes, but it's all fragmentary.
There is no reason that an historian cannot use a single story to build narrative interest, and use a well-chosen life to illuminate broader trends. Grandin, by contrast, can't seem to decide whether he is writing a narrative history or a survey. His meandering very much limits the utility of what could have been a great book.
3/5
Thus, in a relatively modest book (273 pages before notes), we get four chapters on sealing, extended interludes about Herman Melville, an epilogue about the history of the United States (Empire of Necessity is concerned with South America), and extended discussions about everything from maritime insurance practices to the religious views of Amasa Delano's brother. It is really quite bizarre. I learned a lot, yes, but it's all fragmentary.
There is no reason that an historian cannot use a single story to build narrative interest, and use a well-chosen life to illuminate broader trends. Grandin, by contrast, can't seem to decide whether he is writing a narrative history or a survey. His meandering very much limits the utility of what could have been a great book.
3/5
remjunior's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed the intertwining of the history and literature. Grandin retells the story of a slave revolt that was later retold in a work of "fiction" by Herman Melville. And the result is a mix of beautiful and revolting. There are some oddities about this book and it does wander all over the place, from a history of slavery to sealing to Charles Darwin. But it all comes together as part of the story, the backdrop, for this particular story.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about slavery, especially the slave trade that occurred in South America. The other parts, especially the weaving in of Melville's literature and philosophy, is a treat and compliments what would otherwise be a straightforward historical novel.
This was definitely one of my favorite books of the year.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about slavery, especially the slave trade that occurred in South America. The other parts, especially the weaving in of Melville's literature and philosophy, is a treat and compliments what would otherwise be a straightforward historical novel.
This was definitely one of my favorite books of the year.
nobody999's review against another edition
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.75
A story about much more than it would first seem. A sizeable metaphor and examination of the first centuries of western domination of the Americas. Very engaging and interesting.