Shaping the New World: African Slavery in the Americas, 1500-1888

This highly readable overview of slavery in the Americas has an admirably ambitious scope. It synthesizes a vast array of recent research on the subject while still incorporating important older works of scholarship. Nellis offers us a broad comparative framework that is sensitive to the varieties of slavery and slave experiences throughout the Americas. It may be the best overview available for an introduction to the subject. With its vast scope, its extensive and up-to-date bibliography, several important comparative statistical tables and some helpful maps, Nellis's book will be both an ideal text for undergraduates and a helpful reference tool for more advanced scholars. Justin Roberts, Dalhousie University

Shaping the New World is excellent—accurate, clear, and concise. Craig Koslofsky, University of Illinois

While the salient tendency in the expansive field of slavery is focusing on local and micro histories, it is crucial not to lose sight of the big picture and of the comparative perspective. Eric Nellis has produced a remarkable synthesis of the scholarship about African slavery in the Americas from 1500 to 1888. As its title indicates, the book has also the merit of placing the experience of slavery at the heart of the formation of emerging societies in the New World. This concise, elegant, and highly informative work is an excellent guide to the subject and to the scholarship. Lotfi Ben Rejeb, University of Ottawa