Black Odyssey: The Case of the Slave Ship `Amistad'

by Mary Cable

Chronicles the 1839 slave revolt aboard the Amistad, and its implications for the slavery issue, and discusses the role of John Quincy Adams in appealing for the slaves' freedom, in an in-depth account detailing one of the most significant events in history. Reissue. Movie tie-in.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History

183 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[HeavyReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is easy to read and accesible to a wide audience. It would even be appropriate for kids in the higher elementary grades. It does a good job of giving the facts of the Amistad case and has interesting information in the appendix.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Black Odyssey is one of the details that gives further explanation to the inevitability of the American Civil War.

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another gem for Black history readers, even if you have seen the movie AMISTAD, Mary Cable's telling of this story is fascinating.

[Matt Jaeger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important history too dryly written.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read that I am glad to have read, but did not enjoy all that much. It covers the story of the Amistad, but I never felt any real connection to any of the figures in the story. It tries to cover a great deal of the story in a very short book - from the events on the ship, to the Amistads' treatment in America, to the preparation for the trial, to the trial, to the two years following the trial where the Amistads had to raise money for their trip home, to the life and work of the missionaries who helped them, to the time when they return to Africa, etc... Quite a lot to talk about in 150 pages and I feel like each part was shortchanged a bit. If nothing else, the book makes me want to read more about John Quincy Adams.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was basically an overview of the trials, and I found it quite interesting. Are the people property to be returned to their owners or criminals to be imprisoned by Spain? They can't be both.
p. 100 "Justice Barbow, of Virginia had died during the night. A slave, going to awaken him as usual..." I am not sure, but this seems like there was a conflict of interest here...

[Marge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written like a research paper, this detailed account of the slave ship Amistad and the long story of trials about how to handle the slaves, gives an insight as to life and opinions during the early 1800’s. Interesting to read the quotes of John Quincy Adams during his role in the case. A highlight is the Appendix which has profile drawings of the slaves with a background on each one.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Amistad was a slave ship captured on the American coast after the slave cargo was able to overppower the crew. This is the story of the fateful voyage as well as the legal and political process after the capture by the US Navy. A future president represented the Africans in court.

[Scot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, easy, and disturbing read. I found this gem tucked away in one of the many sequestered bookshelves of Powells Books in Portland.

Love that store. Liked this book.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting. This book took me a while to read even though it was short in length. But I enjoyed this book as much as any history I have read.

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book begins with Mary Cable showing that there is a boat in the ocean with slaves called the Amistad. There is an American boat that sees the Amistad traveling in the ocean and starts to wonder. John Quincy Adams was the leader at the time and this book shows what decisions John made to try and stop the need for slaves. The book shows John’s eagerness to fight against other countries for the freedom of the slaves and for every country. The book describes the trials that took place and the communication and discussion that took place to set the slaves free. Cable shows that for Adams it was not an easy trial and not simple to change the minds of other countries to let slaves go.

Cable wanted to tell everything that happened in a very short book. I think Mary skims over the information but tells it without going too in depth to get everything into the story. I think Mary could have made a longer story to get all the information and stories into one book, but I liked how Cable got through the story to show how the slaves got free in a shorter book. This book is a good example of how difficult a time it was for the slaves and how it was really difficult for the countries to all agree on one thing to change the lives of many people.

The people interested in the History of the slaves and how they got free, then this book is for you. If you're interested and willing to read through the slow moments and dark times of slavery, then this is what you're looking for.