From slave ships to plantations to freedom, The Struggle Against Slavery traces the remarkable history of the heroic fight to end slavery, from its North American beginnings in the early 1600s to its violent demise in the mid-1800s with the Civil War. Captured in their own words from transcripts, diaries, memoirs, newspaper clippings, drawings, and other documents are the stories of how slaves and free blacks fought against the dehumanization of slavery by developing anti-racist arguments, creating their own institutions, physically escaping, and fighting with weapons. An exceptional social, political, and cultural history of the period, The Struggle Against Slavery is filled with stirring tales of survival and strength, bringing to life the African-American experience in early America. Grade 7 & Up--This excellent series entry brings together hundreds of primary documents to tell the history of slavery. Waldstreicher takes a chronological approach, covering the subject from pre-Colonial America through the end of the Civil War in 1865. Along the way, readers are introduced to slaves and masters, freedmen and abolitionists, the famous and the infamous. The author of each of the featured documents is identified (when known) and commentary addresses its significance. The illustrations are carefully chosen to match the text and add a great deal to readers' understanding. One chapter has an interesting photo-essay on how slaves and ex-slaves were depicted in photographs and illustrations. A valuable resource for students and for teachers. Elizabeth M. Reardon, McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Gr. 9-12. This source book offers readings from documents relating to slavery in America. From the 1680 " An act for preventing Negroes Insurrections " in Virginia and an excerpt from Olaudah Equiano's account of his capture and his experiences on a slave ship, the selections follow the history of slaves in America through colonial times, the American Revolution, the early decades of the republic, and through the Civil War to emancipation and liberation. Each entry is placed in context with a good introduction. Well-captioned reproductions of period documents, photos, engravings, posters, prints, and other artifacts appear throughout the book. With the increasing emphasis on students' learning to interpret primary sources for historical research, this will be a useful addition to many library collections. Carolyn Phelan Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "This is a book we've been waiting for, for a long time....Outstanding....Well annotated with wonderful black and white reproductions of art....Children will be fascinated with the letters reproduced...they give a very now feeling to history."-- Teaching K-8 "This excellent series entry brings together hundreds of primary documents to tell the history of slavery....The illustrations are carefully chosen to match the text and add a great deal to readers' understanding....A valuable resource for students and for teachers."-- School Library Journal "Each entry is placed in context with a good introduction. Well-captioned reproductions of period documents, photos, engravings, posters, prints, and other artifacts appear throughout the book. With the increasing emphasis on students' learning to interpret primary sources for historical research, this will be a useful addition to many library collections."-- Booklist A history of slavery in America told through documents, from slave ships to plantations to freedom David Waldstreicher is Association Professor of History at Temple University. His recent works include Runaway America : Benjamin Franklin, Slavery, and the American Revolution (Hill and Wang, 2004) and The Envisioning America and Notes on the State of Virginia and Confessions of: Nat Turner (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002).