Published in association with the Library of Congress, this lavish volume attempts to provide a history of America’s peculiar institution from the late colonial days through Reconstruction, using materials from the Library’s collections to evoke the experiences of enslaved Americans. There’s an astonishing compression at work here, as Osborne moves from explanations of the political zeitgeist and legal machinations that made slavery possible to the words of those affected, taken from contemporary slave narratives and the Depression-era transcripts of the Federal Writers’ Project. That no one aspect of the experience can be dealt with at length means that this is of necessity an overview—not an introduction, as the language, particularly that of the primary source materials, is too complex for that. It makes a good foundation for the many fine works that explore more thoroughly subtopics such as the Underground Railroad or plantation life. The handsome design that incorporates a bounty of archival visuals into the presentation is this book’s greatest strength; the captions tie these images neatly to the overall narrative. (timeline, notes, bibliography, picture credits, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
