Preview
  • Inhuman Bondage

  • The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World
  • By: David Brion Davis
  • Narrated by: Raymond Todd
  • Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (306 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Inhuman Bondage

By: David Brion Davis
Narrated by: Raymond Todd
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.80

Buy for $21.80

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

In Inhuman Bondage, David Brion Davis sums up a lifetime of insight, beginning with the dramatic Amistad case. He looks at slavery in the American South, describing black slaveholding planters; the rise of the Cotton Kingdom; the daily life of ordinary slaves; the highly destructive internal long-distance slave trade; the sexual exploitation of slaves; the emergence of an African-American culture; and much more. A definitive history by a writer deeply immersed in the subject, Inhuman Bondage links together the profits of slavery, the pain of the enslaved, and the legacy of racism.

David Brion Davis is recognized as the leading authority on slavery in the Western world. His books have won such awards as the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

©2006 David Brion Davis (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"A tour de force....explaining what has made slavery's consequences so much a part of contemporary American culture and politics." (New York Times Book Review)
"The broader perspective on American slavery, its social and economic impact on the growth of the U.S., forces readers to face the contradictions between our democratic ideals and economic impulses." (Booklist)
"Davis...succeeds heroically in wrestling a vast amount of material from diverse cultures. The result is a sinewy book that combines erudition and everyday detail into a gripping, often surprising, narrative." (Wall Street Journal)

What listeners say about Inhuman Bondage

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    189
  • 4 Stars
    65
  • 3 Stars
    40
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    126
  • 4 Stars
    55
  • 3 Stars
    27
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    6
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    154
  • 4 Stars
    37
  • 3 Stars
    21
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enlightening story. Terrible narrator.

David Brion Davis' book is highly enlightening, especially regarding how the history of American slavery fits into the history of slavery of the entire western hemisphere, and the world. The book begins somewhat slowly and dryly, but the book picks up speed rapidly as it piles on tons of fascinating information about how slavery flourished, and ultimately was abolished.

I found the narrator terrible. He has a sing-song method of speaking with his voice rising at the beginning of a sentence and falling at the end. After a while, it drove me somewhat crazy, but I persisted due to the majesty of Mr. Davis' work. The book deserves to be read widely, but it would be great if a better narrator could be found.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Inhumane Bondage

Great book for a cursory glance at the overall history of bondage/slavery. I feel strongly that a book concerning slavery has to bear responsibility on the perpetrators. It cannot and must not be presented as historical facts. I feel strongly that some will read this work and not be moved by the words within - with the understanding that some people will not be moved.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A deep and broad assessment of American slavery

The scope and detail are impressive. The narrator’s seesaw intonation grates. Definitely worth a listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A History That I Learned Nowhere Else

What did you love best about Inhuman Bondage?

This book taught me more about the history of slavery than I have learned in a lifetime. It's a fascinating story, with perspective about the story of slavery that I thoroughly enjoyed learning. Slavery has been interwoven in the human experience for thousands of years, but the evolution and development of race slavery was a special case. This book is one of the best and most interesting history books that I read or listened to.

What about Raymond Todd’s performance did you like?

Todd has a great reading voice. I enjoyed listening to him.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

All you didn't know

An excellent explanation of the origins of slavery, the progress that has been made. It eludes to what remains to be addressed and come to terms with the legacy of that terrible institution.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very Useful Contribution

This book will shock many who know little about the enslavement of Africans. Although the book addresses the enslavement of other peoples and also the system of indenture, it does so largely to give colour to its discussion about the enslavement of Africans and the creation and perpetuation of ant-Black racism. There is so much material about this period in history that I wish that Audible would make more material available. There is a slew of material on Audible about the Revolutionary War and the Civil War but most of it is told from the perspectives of great men or the battlefield. While it commences before the Revolutionary War, this book speaks to some of the most important social forces that gave rise to those wars and that indeed have given rise to modern America.

While some of the material in the book has been well covered elsewhere, some of it is rare and rarer yet have been attempts to bring to together a number of the disparate parts under this cover. The book is extremely well read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

39 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A historically rigorous portrait of slavery

This is a wonderful and fascinating book which paints a detailed portrait of the intellectual and economic history of slavery in the new world. For me, Davis' dry style adds force to his treatment of the repellant subject. This book is relatively sparse on details of slave's everyday lives, instead it focuses on the ways in which the forced labor of African slaves was essential for the profitability of New World colonies and their successors, especially the American South. I believe that this focus prevents the reader from viewing slavery as the aberrant work of a few slave owning sadists and forces her to grapple with its foundational importance to the U.S. and other New World nations. This book ought to be part of every High School history curriculum.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Soup to Nuts

Pretty good read on Slavery in the Americas leading up to the Civil War. The book covers the highlights from soups to nuts. Objective and informative.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

To battle the White supremacist on Twitter

Read this book to correct the lies and justification white supremacist give for slavery. Know the true history of slavery around the world and especially in the Americas.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just wow

I learned more in 16:38:12 than in the whole of my 45 years combined. Highly recommended

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!