The Weeping Time, Anne C. Bailey
The Weeping Time, Anne C. Bailey
List: $15.99 | Sale: $11.20
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The Weeping Time
Memory and the Largest Slave Auction in American History

Author: Anne C. Bailey

Narrator: Machelle Williams

Unabridged: 6 hr 59 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/28/2021

Synopsis

In 1859, at the largest recorded slave auction in American history, over 400 men, women, and children were sold by the Butler Plantation estates. This book is one of the first to analyze the operation of this auction and trace the lives of slaves before, during, and after their sale. Immersing herself in the personal papers of the Butlers, accounts from journalists that witnessed the auction, genealogical records, and oral histories, Anne C. Bailey weaves together a narrative that brings the auction to life. Demonstrating the resilience of African American families, she includes interviews from the living descendants of slaves sold on the auction block, showing how the memories of slavery have shaped people's lives today. Using the auction as the focal point, The Weeping Time is a compelling and nuanced narrative of one of the most pivotal eras in American history, and how its legacy persists today.

About Anne C. Bailey

Anne C. Bailey is a writer, historian, and a professor of history at SUNY Binghamton. In her work, she combines the elements of travel, adventure, history, and an understanding of contemporary issues with an accessible style. Her works range from adult non-fiction to children's historical fiction, and include African Voices of the Atlantic Slave Trade: Beyond the Silence and the Shame, You Can Make A Difference: The Story of Martin Luther King Jr., and The Weeping Time: Memory and the Largest Slave Auction in American History.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Brendan on November 24, 2017

I don't have time to accept many book review requests, but I was glad that I got the chance to read The Weeping Time by Anne C. Bailey, coming out at the end of this month from Cambridge University Press. The book is a detailed study of the largest slave auction which is recorded in US history: 436......more

Goodreads review by Martine on November 30, 2017

As I read, I felt that I was at the auction. I felt the rain and choked on the tobacco smoke and recoiled from the violent hands that were forced on the men and women being auctioned. I felt heartbroken for the families torn apart because of the debts of their Irish slaveholder. I rejoiced for those......more

Goodreads review by Colin on April 10, 2023

A sobering account of a horrors of slavery in the American South, and in the cognitive dissonance that has remained part of America every since: every man is created equal, except many weren't and aren't.......more

Goodreads review by Navi on May 15, 2018

This was a harrowing but important read. It focuses on the largest slave auction that took place in America, an event that I was wholly ignorant about. Anne C. Bailey does an incredible job portraying this specific incident and zooming out to provide a thought provoking commentary on the slave exper......more

Goodreads review by Sue on August 25, 2019

Watch out. This looks like an easy read but it is dense on facts and research. The tale isn't bogged down in mistreatment of slaves; the very fact that they are treated as property not people is mistreatment enough. And it brings up many side issues such as the fact that northerners benefited from t......more

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