The Atlantic Sound - (Vintage International) by Caryl Phillips (Paperback)

About the Book

In this fascinating inquiry into the African Diaspora, Caryl Phillips embarks on a soul-wrenching journey to the three major ports of the transatlantic slave trade. Juxtaposing stories of the past with his own present-day experiences, Phillips combines his remarkable skills as a travel essayist with an astute understanding of history.

Book Synopsis

In this fascinating inquiry into the African Diaspora, Caryl Phillips embarks on a soul-wrenching journey to the three major ports of the transatlantic slave trade.

Juxtaposing stories of the past with his own present-day experiences, Phillips combines his remarkable skills as a travel essayist with an astute understanding of history. From an West African businessman's interactions with white Methodists in nineteenth-century Liverpool to an eighteenth-century African minister's complicity in the selling of slaves to a fearless white judge's crusade for racial justice in 1940s Charleston, South Carolina, Phillips reveals the global the impact of being uprooted from one's home through resonant, powerful narratives.

Review Quotes

"A lyrical survey that...elicit[s] and illuminat[es] the patterns and prejudices of race."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Impressive, poignant.... A travel book crafted with the touch of a skilled novelist."
--Time Out New York

"A trenchant...book that sounds the depth of slavery's legacy."
--San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle