"An astonishing book. . . . It will challenge and change your
understanding of what we were as Americans -- and of what we are." --
Chicago Tribune
In this groundbreaking historical exposé, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to
light one of the most shameful chapters in American history -- an "Age
of Neoslavery" that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War through
the dawn of World War II.
Using a vast record of original documents and personal narratives,
Blackmon unearths the lost stories of slaves and their descendants who
journeyed into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation and then back
into the shadow of involuntary servitude shortly thereafter. By turns
moving, sobering, and shocking, this unprecedented account reveals the
stories of those who fought unsuccessfully against the re-emergence of
human labor trafficking, the companies that profited most from
neoslavery, and the insidious legacy of racism that reverberates today.
"The genius of Blackmon's book is that it illuminates both the real
human tragedy and the profoundly corrupting nature of the Old South
slavery as it transformed to establish a New South social order." --
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"A formidably researched, powerfully written, wrenchingly detailed
narrative." -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch
