Short Synopsis
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.

Full Synopsis
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.

"The evil business of slavery has seldom been exposed with so much humanity and insight as in this eloquent study, scholarly yet wholly accessible, a compelling cross-sectional microcosm of millions of human tragedies." ---Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"The fullest, most penetrating examination of the antebellum slave market to date. . . . An essential book for anyone who wants to understand why slavery matters." ---Library Journal

"Organized with a blessed eschewal of academese, Johnson’s work is a superior examination of the speculation in slaves as individuals conducted it." ---Booklist

"A refreshing, elegantly written angle on antebellum slavery." ---Kirkus

Publishers Weekly Review