Black Odyssey: The African-American Ordeal in Slavery

by Nathan Irvin Huggins

This classic work of scholarship and empathy tells the story of the self-creation of the African-American people. It assesses the full impact of the Middle Passage -- "the most traumatizing mass human migration in modern history" -- and of North American slavery both on the enslaved and on those who enslaved them. It explores the ways in which a nominally free society perverted its own freedoms and denied the fact that an inhuman institution lies at the heart of the American experience. The authority and eloquence of this work make it essential reading for all who want to understand the American past and present.

Genres: History, American History

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Nathan Irvin Huggins was W. E. B. Du Bois Professor of History and of Afro-American Studies at Harvard University as well as director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research.

Reviews

[Alexandria Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an Black American expat residing in Africa, I often find myself trying to digest the complexity of the African and the African Diaspora relationship, where it exists. "Black Odyssey", a gift from my daughter bought at a used book store, enlightened me to how peoples with similar DNA can differ. The descendents of Africans who escaped the nets and chains of the transatlantic slave trade, despite colonization, have retained their sense of belonging to something much bigger than the individual. Yet the descendents of slaves in America were resilient and formed a new identity, one tribe from many. This is only one small takeaway that really goes much deeper from my reading.

"Black Odyssey" dispels some myths of the Black slave, goes deeper into the slave-master relationship, explores the role of religion and community on the plantation, breaks down the known facts of the biggest slave rebellions, and gives a chronological understanding of how slave life changed over its 250 years.

[Shelbie Butcher]

I thought this book was pretty good. It really helped me understand they way the African American's were treated back when they were slaves. It also informed me about what all they had to go through to try and escape from slavery. Also how they had to be split up from their families not knowing if they were ever going to see them again.
The reason that the author wrote this book is because he wanted to inform his readers. He wanted to inform them about what it would have been like if you were an African American back then. He explained exactly what those poor people had to go through, how they were treated, and the amount of food they got to eat compared to the amount of food we get to eat now.
The theme of this book would be don't lose hope. For example, the African American's never lost hope. They believed that one day slavery would end. Many of them were beaten, killed, and separated from their families while they were being owned by they white people. Little kids were taking away at the age as young as ten. They would be put to work as soon as they got to their owners property. Out of all of the stuff that they went through during this time they never lost hope. they just kept trying to escape from it, many of them did, but the ones who didn't never lost hope. They kept hoping that slavery would end and it finally did.
This book was written in a description style. The reason it is classified as being descriptive is because it is describing a particular time in history. The author makes you feel like you are actually experiencing this time first hand. He goes into great amounts of detail in how the African American's were being treated back then and how they had to use the underground rail road to help them escape from slavery.
My opinion on the book is that it is pretty good. One thing that I don't like about it is that it doesn't capture the readers attention from the beginning. It's not one of my favorite books but it did inform me a lot on how the slaves were back then and how they had to use the underground rail road. The main part that I liked about it was the detail that the author went into when he was describing how they were being treated. Those parts really caught my attention and really made me learn a lot. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn more about the African American's and how they were treated when they were being slaves.

[Mosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay. Huggins often gets repetitive in his ideas (how slaves coped, alliances they made, options they had), but he gives a lot of history I never knew. Most important was how the idea of race was intentional, necessitated by slave owners' need to deprive slaves of their individuality, thus making them all Black, paying no mind as to their original cultures prior to arriving in America and forcing them into a bizarre melting pot.

It also feels that Huggins downplays the severity of the experiences slaves endured. When he discusses motives for escape, he writes that slaves "might have been provoked by some specific act--a beating or a job demotion" (228). These options do not seem to be apples to apples. Huggins also discusses how slaves would learn how far they could push their masters and "gain the upper hand" (150). Again, knowing how far to push the person who controls everything about your life is far from having an actual advantage over him; it's only advantageous compared to a prior position.

Huggins text also feels overly academic. By using this style of language, he stifles the emotional appeal that this topic might have. I understand that Isabel Wilkerson's Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is an outlier because of how effective it is, but Huggins work pales by comparison in being able to convey the feeling that should accompany the facts.

I can't say that I would recommend this book, but it is worthy of a perusal to learn more about some of the background and to get more in-depth on the darkest era of American history.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice historical overview, especially the introduction. While there aren't really footnotes/references, I really liked the narrative flow of this history.