From the author of the widely acclaimed King Leopold's Ghost comes the taut, gripping account of one of the most brilliantly organized social justice campaigns in history—the fight to free the slaves of the British Empire. In early 1787, twelve men—a printer, a lawyer, a clergyman, and others united by their hatred of slavery—came together in a London printing shop and began a remarkable grass-roots movement, battling for the rights of people on another continent.
Masterfully stoking public opinion, the movement's leaders pioneered a variety of techniques that have been adopted by citizens' movements ever since, from consumer boycotts to wall posters and lapel buttons to celebrity endorsements. A deft chronicle of this groundbreaking antislavery crusade and its powerful enemies, Bury the Chains gives a little-celebrated human rights watershed its due at last.
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"Hochschild, author of the highly acclaimed King Leopold's Ghost (1998), brings drama and incredible research to this thrilling look at the little-celebrated abolition movement in Britain and its reverberations throughout modern democracies."
— Booklist
“Fascinating as this is, what makes Hochschild’s book so readable is the rich cast of characters who created the movement, and the appalling nature of slavery itself.”
— Washington Post“Hochschild has a knack for vivid portraits, and an eye for arresting detail.”
— Boston GlobeBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Adam Hochschild is the author of ten books, including To End All Wars, a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. His Bury the Chains won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the PEN/USA Literary Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award. King Leopold’s Ghost was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Derek Perkins is a professional narrator and voice actor. He has earned numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, as well as numerous Society of Voice Arts nominations. AudioFile magazine named him a Best Voice consecutively in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Augmented by a knowledge of three foreign languages and a facility with accents, he has narrated numerous titles in a wide range of fiction and nonfiction genres.