Human Resources: Slavery and the Making of Modern Britain – in 39 Institutions, People, Places and Things

by Renay Richardson, Arisa Loomba

Ordinary items take on new meanings when you cast them in different light. The origins of tea, coffee and sugar are well known, but when you discover that gym treadmills were pioneered on plantations or that denim jeans were once clothing for enslaved people, you can't help but ask where else the legacy of slavery hides in plain sight.

Through the stories of thirty-nine everyday places and objects, Renay Richardson and Arisa Loomba unpick the threads of the history that we never learned in school, revealing the truth of how Britain's present is bound to a darker past.

Taking us from art galleries to football stands, banks to hospitals, from grand country houses to the backs of our kitchen cupboards, Human Resources is an eye-opening inquiry that gives a voice to the enslaved people who built modern Britain.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published June 5, 2025

Reviews

[Kiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a genuinely insightful read and I found myself telling people “did you know…” after every chapter I read. I enjoyed the way the authors approached the topic as they made it relatable and understandable for someone like myself with limited knowledge of slavery and its impact. As a history nerd and someone who studied it for 5 years, there were some arguments in the book that I couldn’t get on board with, but they weren’t frequent enough to become irritating - just a difference in schools of thought! Would recommend for any fellow history nerds.

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting enough especially the chapters on sport and the guardian, but I think it’s more of a book to dip in and out with rather than read all together.

[Edward Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light read for such a weighty topic.

[Bee Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever someone tries to claim that the past should be left there, it’s books like this that remind me how wrong they are. This is a timely, impactful reminder that the world we exist in is built on the work of people who were enslaved and tortured, that deserves acknowledging and remembering so we hopefully don’t keep repeating this cycle. It’s a devastating, but essential journey through the chapters, one of those books that can drastically shift your world view to further recognise your own privilege, and remind us just how deeply racist, patriarchal systems have been embedded into the world around us.

Human Resources should be required reading — tracking 39 different items, industries, institutions that people see everyday and opening their history to show how those industries were built, how the rich and powerful thrived at the suffering of others, providing clear history, supporting evidence, and even links to how these events influence us even today.

The writing is excellent, one of those books I just couldn’t stop reading and then wished for more, the perfect balance of information and art — impeccably thought out, well cited and researched, but also so clearly written, accessible, with easily readable language. Each chapter is short, giving plenty of information but leaving the door open for future delving should you wish, citing experts they’ve spoken to and other sources for future reading.

I’d happily read so much more from these authors.

[NICOLE · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is this an AI copy and paste?
Fascinating read either way.
Read the EBook through my Library app.