SLAVERY IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

by Roger Sawyer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 15, 1986

Slavery is a thriving operation all over the world, and the author has no illusions about stamping it out in the near future. Most readers will be shocked at the horrors of this ancient and persistent human institution. It takes different forms, according to Sawyer--child labor, debt bondage, exploitation of women, chattel, persecution of minorities, forced labor, political imprisonment; the list goes on and on. The Russians invented the modern slave labor camp, and the Nazis improved on the idea. In most places in the world, prostitution is a form of slavery. Starving families often are eager to sell their children for service in brothels. There is an insatiable, pedophilic appetite in jaded sensualists for young children with whom they hope to rejuvenate their waning powers. The extent of the traffic in slaves either for pleasure or work is enormous. And the practice, instead of fading as most Westerners believe, seems to be increasing. Africa, Asia and South America are areas in which the slave is still recruited, sometimes in the classical manner, sometimes through ads in newspapers. Enlightened nations of the world often turn a blind eye toward slavery--and even indulge in aspects of it themselves. Sawyer's book looks unsparingly at the intractability of this problem.

Pub Date: Feb. 15, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Routledge & Kegan Paul/Metheun

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION