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albatrossonhalfpointe's review against another edition
2.0
"Perhaps no trial changed the course of history as much as one that took place in London in 1772; the case of James Somerset, a black man rescued from a ship bound for the West Indies slave markets. At this landmark trial, two encompassing worldviews clashed in an event of passionate drama and far-reaching significance."
The jacket goes on to say how Wise "recreates each exciting moment," and calls the book a "gripping narrative." Sadly, it didn't *quite* live up to that hype. It was pretty good, and certainly informative, but it was less interesting than I'd hoped. I'm not sure that's entirely the author's fault, though. It's a legal story, and those always involve all kinds of legal precedents and other stuff that I for one didn't always understand fully. It's also hard to tell the story in a "what happened next" kind of linear fashion - again, because of the nature of legal stuff, and that also made it a little harder to follow and really get sucked in.
That said, it wasn't too bad. I think when most of us think of the end of slavery, we probably think mostly of the Civil War, but it's good to be aware that the ball started rolling a long time before that.
The jacket goes on to say how Wise "recreates each exciting moment," and calls the book a "gripping narrative." Sadly, it didn't *quite* live up to that hype. It was pretty good, and certainly informative, but it was less interesting than I'd hoped. I'm not sure that's entirely the author's fault, though. It's a legal story, and those always involve all kinds of legal precedents and other stuff that I for one didn't always understand fully. It's also hard to tell the story in a "what happened next" kind of linear fashion - again, because of the nature of legal stuff, and that also made it a little harder to follow and really get sucked in.
That said, it wasn't too bad. I think when most of us think of the end of slavery, we probably think mostly of the Civil War, but it's good to be aware that the ball started rolling a long time before that.
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