Review by Choice Review
This well-organized, clearly argued, heavily researched book frames antislavery movements broadly--from the era of the Atlantic slave trade to today--combining historical and contemporary movements into what Quirk (Univ. of Hull, UK) ambiguously labels "the anti-slavery project." He begins with a concise narrative of the British antislavery movement, especially its connections to European international society and colonialism. The author argues that the globalization of antislavery involved one of three roads: popular mobilization, armed conflict, and external pressure. Quirk contends that the legal abolition of slavery in the 19th century signified a vital first step, not a decisive historical endpoint, to the labor exploitation of persons worldwide. In his book's most original and valuable section, Quirk defines and demarcates slavery over the course of the 20th century and focuses directly on three central themes: classical slavery, debt bondage, and human trafficking. He acknowledges that delineating these forms of contemporary slavery involves recognizing its ambiguity and its changing politics. Nevertheless, Quirk concludes that combating contemporary slavery requires overturning poverty, inequality, and political complicity--factors that generally accompany forms of unfree labor. Though Quirk offers few practical solutions to the problem of global slavery, he provides useful insights into the ubiquity of this complex problem. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. J. D. Smith University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review