| Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market | 
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (based on 14 reviews)
Sales Rank: 224289
Category: Book
Author: Walter Johnson
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Studio: Harvard University Press
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
Label: Harvard University Press
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 0674005392
Dewey Decimal Number: 976.33500496
EAN: 9780674005396
ASIN: 0674005392
Publication Date: March 2, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Soul by Soul tells the story of slavery in antebellum America by moving away from the cotton plantations and into the slave market itself, the heart of the domestic slave trade. Taking us inside the New Orleans slave market, the largest in the nation, where 100,000 men, women, and children were packaged, priced, and sold, Walter Johnson transforms the statistics of this chilling trade into the human drama of traders, buyers, and slaves, negotiating sales that would alter the life of each. What emerges is not only the brutal economics of trading but the vast and surprising interdependencies among the actors involved. Using recently discovered court records, slaveholders' letters, nineteenth-century narratives of former slaves, and the financial documentation of the trade itself, Johnson reveals the tenuous shifts of power that occurred in the market's slave coffles and showrooms. Traders packaged their slaves by "feeding them up," dressing them well, and oiling their bodies, but they ultimately relied on the slaves to play their part as valuable commodities. Slave buyers stripped the slaves and questioned their pasts, seeking more honest answers than they could get from the traders. In turn, these examinations provided information that the slaves could utilize, sometimes even shaping a sale to their own advantage. Johnson depicts the subtle interrelation of capitalism, paternalism, class consciousness, racism, and resistance in the slave market, to help us understand the centrality of the "peculiar institution" in the lives of slaves and slaveholders alike. His pioneering history is in no small measure the story of antebellum slavery. (20011101)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 Very Satisfied Customer October 14, 2008
The book arrived in the condition that was described in the sale and also was delivered very promptly. No complaints about the transaction or seller.
In the Image of God . . . but Treated Like Chattel January 21, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Johnson has done a splendid job of collating primary resources focused specifically on aspects surrounding the degrading slave auctions. He adds to his woven-together quotes a theme that focuses upon how Whites viewed themselves and each other in light of how well they managed their slaves. Much like a modern banker today might think or say, "I'm a success because I made a great commodity trade," so went the thinking of the slave owner.
The strength of Johnson's research reaches its apex in his focused, first-hand narratives exposes the despicable and hypocritical ways Whites treated blacks.
Johnson details how enslaved African Americans survived in these deplorable conditions. Highlighting how their faith in God, in particular how their identification with Christ's suffering, buoyed them up and gave them hope, not only to survive, but to thrive, would have strengthened an already strong work.
"Soul by Soul" is a very important read about a profound topic. It is not easy reading, if by "easy reading" one means a "happy story." It is hard reading--reading about the hard realities of life, but nonetheless, vital reading.
Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction , Soul Physicians, and Spiritual Friends.
Slavery upclose September 19, 2004
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
In response to Tabsaw's "brilliant" book review, I would offer a more balanced perspective. Yes, the slave narratives provide interesting reading, but what evidence is there that these are historically accurrate? In fact, a quick review of how the WPA collected these narratives should give an clue as to their reliability. Most were done by whites looking to support their perception of slavery in the 1930's. The people interviewed were elderly and their stories written down by their white interviewers. Gee...no chance for embellishment or mistakes in that process!! And Tabsaw just assumes that the white recorders were able to keep their bias out of the narratives as they transcribed them!! Hey..show me a single interviewer who is able to do that!!
Johnson's book, on the other hand, is an excellent work of scholarship. He does cite his sources (that is what those numbers mean at the end of sentenses or paragraphs, genius!!), and had Tabsaw taken the time to look in the section called "Notes", he would have discovered that Johnson is relying upon a wide range of primary and secondary sources to tell his tale. The picture he paints is one of horror and dehumanization. Slaves were treated like animals with little regard given to their well-being. Johnson takes the reader inside the slave market where the smells, sounds and conditions of slavery cannot be ignored. It is a compelling and disturbing read.
In a larger sense, Johnson's work is also a commentary on Southern life as a whole during the 1800's. The enslavement of fellow humans required a new and different social structure. The patriarchial society that ensued brought with it profound implications for relations with women, property rights and behavior. Johnson makes it plain that the slave culture came to dominate Southern life.
I recommend this work highly!! For anyone interested in what the process of slavery was like, this is the place to start. Once finished with the book (which I doubt Tabsaw actually read cover to cover because of the simple-mindness of his review), one will have a clear picture indeed of what life was like for slaves awaiting their purchase and the interactions that occurred with the white owners. The slave narratives are interesting reading, but background knowledge is necessary for an informed arguement. Johnson's book provides the needed background and helps put those narratives in context. READ THIS BOOK and see what life was like in an antibellum slave market.
 Disappointing Read June 2, 2004
7 out of 24 found this review helpful
Slavery in our country's history was grievously wrong, wrong, wrong...but this book was dry, dry, dry. It left out very basic details and was bogged down in the author's repetitive, plodding musings. My mind would drift trying to get through one paragraph (and the paragraphs are quite wordy.) I wanted to soak up this book and its information. Unfortunately, it was just too dull and overwrought, and I came away knowing merely a bit more about the New Orleans slave market than I did going in.
Well written April 5, 2004
9 out of 13 found this review helpful
This is a well-written book on an interesting subject. The author keeps the subject moving by the way he has the book organized. It follows in the path by which a slave went from one plantation to the slave market in New Orleans to a new plantation in the Lower South. I enjoyed reading the narrative.
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