Review by Choice Review
Like its predecessor, Kiple's Another Dimension to the Black Diaspora (1981), this book is based on the highly speculative reading of a rich variety of secondary and archival sources, with an emphasis on the former. Covering the period from the 16th century to the present (and therefore a study of far more than the Caribbean slave), Kiple analyzes the diet and diseases that plagued Africans in both Africa and the New World. The severe deficiencies of diet, especially in vitamins and minerals, predisposed the populations to certain types of diseases. Malnutrition from lack of protein accounted for an inordinately high infant and child mortality rate in the Caribbean, while a combination of genetic and pathogenic factors produced susceptibilities and immunities that largely explain the illnesses of Africans throughout the Americas. Black resistance to some epidemics, such as yellow fever and malaria, reinforced the racist view that they were different from whites, and possibly inferior. Although informed and informative, Kiple's work fails to be as persuasive as Barry Higman's Slave Populations of the British Caribbean (CH, Dec '84) and frequently raises questions that are not answered. The difficulties of generalizing across time and space are not well handled, but the work is, nevertheless, an important contribution. Upper-division undergraduates and beyond.-F.W. Knight, Johns Hopkins University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
