Today most Americans; black and white; identify slavery with cotton; the deep South; and the African-American church. But at the beginning of the nineteenth century; after almost two hundred years of African-American life in mainland North America; few slaves grew cotton; lived in the deep South; or embraced Christianity. Many Thousands Gone traces the evolution of black society from the first arrivals in the early seventeenth century through the Revolution. In telling their story; Ira Berlin; a leading historian of southern and African-American life; reintegrates slaves into the history of the American working class and into the tapestry of our nation. Laboring as field hands on tobacco and rice plantations; as skilled artisans in port cities; or soldiers along the frontier; generation after generation of African Americans struggled to create a world of their own in circumstances not of their own making. In a panoramic view that stretches from the North to the Chesapeake Bay and Carolina lowcountry to the Mississippi Valley; Many Thousands Gone reveals the diverse forms that slavery and freedom assumed before cotton was king. We witness the transformation that occurred as the first generations of creole slaves--who worked alongside their owners; free blacks; and indentured whites--gave way to the plantation generations; whose back-breaking labor was the sole engine of their society and whose physical and linguistic isolation sustained African traditions on American soil. As the nature of the slaves' labor changed with place and time; so did the relationship between slave and master; and between slave and society. In this fresh and vivid interpretation; Berlin demonstrates that the meaning of slavery and of race itself was continually renegotiated and redefined; as the nation lurched toward political and economic independence and grappled with the Enlightenment ideals that had inspired its birth.
#1166938 in Books Kecia Ali 2016-03-14Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.90 x .90 x 5.10l; .0 #File Name: 0674659880352 pagesThe Lives of Muhammad
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy J. WatneyJust what I wanted.1 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A scholarly treatiseBy L. M. CraneAli's The Lives of Muhammad is not an easy read; being more of a scholarly treatise than an attempt at popular biography. It does cover the main body of scholarship and writing (the two are not the same) over many centuries about Muhammad's life. Yes; it doesn't include the entire body of scholarship; but the author is very up front about why certain works are referenced in detail and others are barely mentioned or left out.By including the viewpoints of both polemicists and serious scholars of both Muslim and non-Muslim backgrounds; along with historical and cultural details of when each paper or book was written; the reader is able to more ably parse both the influence and validity of these works. As is true of other historical religious leaders/prophets; "facts" are often hard to come by and often suffer from bias; consciously or unconsciously; when their biographies are written. The religion gets in the way of the history. Cultural mores centuries old may seem outdated or naïve when viewed with today's prism of hindsight and change. Various references view Muhammad through different lenses. That's why the plural "Lives" instead of the singular Life. The book examines most of these perspectives..Ali faces these problems head-on; however; and informs us of both the mundane and controversial aspects of scholarship on Muhammad's life.She even addresses the very definition of "scholarship" about Muhammad and how it continues to change over time. The reader is also introduced to the tremendous differences in opinion about details of Muhammad's life by Muslim scholars. This goes far beyond the Sunni and Shiite controversies.The book only mentions the Quran in a few places. It's possible to examine the historical Muhammad or Jesus without constantly referencing the Quran or Bible. Some reviewers find this to be an omission; but I think it frees the author from having to always "test" a fact against the religious literature which; by definition; carries its own bias.In the end; I was glad I read this book. It was very informative and provided both historical and cultural perspective about Muhammad. It's attempt to be fair and thorough required constant references and their context; which provided insight; but slowed the narrative.18 of 23 people found the following review helpful. Short and worth reading; but not a critical biographyBy j a haverstickI have a real interest in the biographies of people who we don't know much about. Jesus; a big one; Shakespeare; of course; Socrates ( about whom we ironically know too much - all contradictory); Alexander; etc. About these people; though; we have a lot of "contextual history"; as Ali puts it. But we don't really know much about life in the deserts of southern Arabia and so the rich background which accompanies those other figures is missing here.Imagine you're a bright young student from Peking who decides one day to find out who Jesus was. That's the position I was in a few years ago (except for the "bright; young student" part) when I decided to bone up on Mohammed. Sure; I've got a couple Palestinian friends but though pretty well acculturated to our greatest-land-ever-to-exist; asking them about Mohammed is like asking a Southern Baptist about Jesus. If our Peking woman just starts sampling the Jesus literature she'll be swamped. What to read first; and what credence to give any of it? Of course; there's the Bible; just as there's the Koran...but good luck with that!I bought two bios of Mohammed and the Cambridge Companion and therby got an adequate survey (can't locate the specific books as we're moving and my library's in boxes). I wasn't crazy about either of the books; though; but would at least suggest that any one unfamiliar with the basic life at least go to Wikipedia for the outline story before she starts to read the work under review. As Ali points out; as with Jesus; Socrates; etc. this Urstory is a matter of great debate - including the opinion that the person didn't exist at all!This book does not; as I had hoped; review the early works and analyze and parse them. The program instead is to explicate the whole range of historiographies of Mohammed with all of their agendae and prejudices to bring the reader to an understanding of how "Mohammed" came too be who he is in the contemporary consciousness of Muslims; Christians and Jews. Most of the works investigated are from the 18 and 19 hundreds; not the 7 and 8 hundreds. Once I got over my disappointment on the subject matter and came to accept the book for what it is; I got a lot out of it.One significant theme is how Muslim history has developed in an interplay with the West. That was a new thought; as I was tending to think of religions as sui generis. It became a lot more convincing to me as I later reflected on how Christianity came to be what it is only by rubbing against Neo-Platonism and pagan and mystery cults (though our "fundamentalist" friends ignorantly believe it sprang forth from the forehead of Jesus!).The penultimate chapters of this book explore the reactions to Mohammed's relationships to two of his wives and how that has played with the historians and commentators: the first "monogamous" relationship Khadija and the later child-bride member of the harem; Aisha. These relationships both have their controversial aspects and Ali describes how they are finessed by various biographers. The sexual presumptions of our own culture are hard to shake. I'd mention John Marshall's bride (yes; that John Marshall) was perhaps 16; but they had been "going out" for a while before; she 14 and he an adult. See; colonial America; was different...unlike; I guess the sands of 8th century Arabia. Ali is quite neutral in her comments on these gender and sexual issues; which is refreshing.The last chapter; "an enlightened man"; was my favorite as it examined; albeit briefly; the connection between the founders of Christianity; Buddhism and Islam. Compare and contrast. This was perhaps also the most superficial chapter; which; as I say; didn't keep it from being thought provoking. She pointed out that Islam is a protestant religion; depending; that is; on the worshiper's relationship with the text. That's surely the situation with the Muslims I know and when I think about with most of the billion in the world; Indonesia; Europe; Morocco; et. al. You get a different idea if you focus only on the very angry jihadists in the Levant.All in all; I'm glad I read the book and can't deny receiving a few insights; but it's more for a class in the historiography of religion than religious biography.
