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mkesten's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of those books that forever changes how you view yourself, your society, and your understanding of humankind. Slavery is a worldwide phenomenon and spans the history of our species. But what it means to us on such fundamental levels is what this book is really about.
sinthomo's review
I have two major points of contention with this book, for which I'll borrow a summary from this review:
https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.2307/1899753
https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.2307/1899753
Patterson's definition of slavery depends on precepts that are by no means
confirmed by what one knows of slavery in the Americas at large. If slaves
were in fact "generally dishonored," how does he explain the degrees of rank
found among all groups of slaves--that is, the scale of "reputation" and
authority accorded, or at least acknowledged, by slave and master alike?
Second, if slaves were by definition "natally alienated," they would have had
no chance of establishing the vigorous and effective family life that has been
demonstrated by Barry Higman for the Caribbean and Herbert Gutman for the
United States.
My criticism is in a sense opposite to Craton's—I do not contest that the condition of slavery is defined by powerlessness, alienation, and lack of honor. Rather, the issue is these qualities can be found in all other relations of domination, and that slavery differs in the intensity, at least symbolically, of these qualities, for which it then becomes the referent, the arch domination.
However, I could not have even arrived at this conclusion without Patterson's meticulous and lucid analysis, drawn from 66 (!) slave holding societies across the world and throughout history. In the process of characterizing slavery, he tests the conceptual boundaries of property, kinship, dependency, authority, power, and honor. I expect I'll be coming back this in years to come.
poenaestante's review against another edition
5.0
This book was foundational in my understanding of the depth of the debt that is owed black people. Until this book I didn't fully understand the magnitude of the physical, spiritual, psychological, social, and civic damage that was borne of slavery and continues on through the various agents of global capital (police, jailer, employer, case worker). It is not something that can merely be overlooked or gotten over. As we continue to grasp how deep this all goes, we will continue to understand how deep we will have to dig if we truly wish to uproot it.
cappy89's review against another edition
5.0
Despite being a very dense piece of reading patterson is able to express many thought provoking ideas on our basic understanding of what slavery is. This piece greatly influences many other reading on slavery for the better.
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