"The various narratives reveal the issues people of African descent had to confront: war and politics, families and communities, spiritual beliefs and practices, human rights, and, of course, enslavement. The passages break down the assumptions, stereotypes, and overgeneralizations that continue to limit understanding the lives of people of African descent and the ways they imagine their lives. These selections counteract the prevalent myth that Ibero-Atlantic blacks were primarily enslaved on plantations, excluded from exercising free will. Highly recommended." --R. A. Santillan, Medgar Evers College, CUNY, in CHOICE
