Inhuman Traffick: Graphic History of the Slave Trade Reviewed
This paper reviews Rafe Blaufarb and Liz Clarke's Inhuman Traffick: The International Struggle against the Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Graphic History (Oxford University Press, 2014). The review examines why the authors chose the graphic non-fiction format to convey the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, how the book is structured across four main parts, and what each section contributes to both scholarly understanding and public engagement. The review argues that the book's combination of vivid imagery, primary source documents, and reflexive authorial commentary makes it a uniquely effective tool for raising awareness and inspiring social justice activism.
- Introduction: A Unique Approach to a Grim History: Book's novelty and purpose introduced
- Why the Graphic Format Matters: Rationale for choosing graphic non-fiction format
- Structure and Content of the Book: Overview of the book's four-part structure
- Scholarly Rigor and Public Reach: Primary sources and reflexive authorial commentary
- Conclusion: Final evaluative judgment on the book
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What makes this paper effective
- The review clearly articulates the rationale for the book's unconventional graphic format, connecting the medium to the nature of the subject matter rather than treating the format as a novelty.
- It moves logically through the book's structure, devoting proportional attention to each of the four parts and explaining what each contributes to the whole.
- The review balances appreciation for the book's emotional power with recognition of its scholarly credentials, making a coherent case that the two qualities reinforce each other.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates evaluative summary — a core book-review skill in which the writer does not merely describe content but interprets why authorial choices were made and how well they succeed. By linking the graphic format to the inherently visual nature of slavery's horrors, the reviewer moves beyond plot summary into genuine critical analysis.
Structure breakdown
The review opens with a thesis about the book's novelty and purpose, then devotes a paragraph to the rationale for the graphic medium before walking through the book's four-part structure in order. It concludes with a synthesizing judgment about the book's dual achievement of scholarly rigor and broad accessibility. The structure mirrors the book itself: context first, then content, then evaluation.
Introduction: A Unique Approach to a Grim History
Rafe Blaufarb and Liz Clarke's Inhuman Traffick: The International Struggle against the Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Graphic History accomplishes what few authors or historians could do: tell the tale of one of the most perplexing and gruesome episodes in history using the medium of graphic non-fiction. There are clear reasons why the authors would have wanted to approach their subject in this unique way. One is simply that no other author or historian had done this before, and the transatlantic slave trade does need to be retold and revisited again and again so that modern readers recognize its ramifications and reverberations. Retelling this story also inspires social justice activism, as readers will realize that patterns of slavery still exist — from the sex trade to economically expedient human trafficking.
Why the Graphic Format Matters
Another reason why The International Struggle against the Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Graphic History is important is that it takes the subject of slavery for what it is: something that is inherently graphic. Slavery is about inhumanity, about blood, torture, and other grim details that can too easily be lost in a historian's prose. No matter how witty or well-written a history text is, nothing quite takes the place of imagery. Graphic non-fiction is also impressionistic, allowing for nuances of expression that would not even be possible had the authors had access only to photo-documentary evidence. The history and implications of the transatlantic slave trade are issues that deserve to be elevated to a new position in the public consciousness.
References
Rafe Blaufarb and Liz Clarke. Inhuman Traffick: The International Struggle against the Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Graphic History. Oxford University Press, 2014.
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