Unfree Labor: American Slavery And Russian Serfdom
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
What happens when two of history's most brutal systems of human bondage are placed side by side under the same scholarly lens? Peter Kolchin's landmark comparative study chronicles the parallel development of American slavery and Russian serfdom, tracing their origins, their entrenchment within vastly different social and economic landscapes, and their ultimate demise in the nineteenth century. Drawing on a wealth of primary sources from both sides of the Atlantic, Kolchin presents a rigorous and illuminating argument: that despite their geographic and cultural distance, these two systems of unfree labor share striking structural similarities — and equally revealing differences — that shed new light on the nature of human exploitation and resistance. Kolchin's analytical precision is matched by his ability to synthesize complex historical forces into a coherent and compelling narrative, positioning Unfree Labor as a cornerstone of comparative history. He argues that the relationship between master and bondsman, the mechanics of social control, and the psychology of both oppressor and oppressed transcend national boundaries, revealing universal patterns of domination. Published by the prestigious Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, this work remains essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how societies rationalize and sustain inequality — and what it truly costs to dismantle it.
Author: Peter Kolchin
Format: Hardback
Published: 1987, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
Genre: American history
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
What happens when two of history's most brutal systems of human bondage are placed side by side under the same scholarly lens? Peter Kolchin's landmark comparative study chronicles the parallel development of American slavery and Russian serfdom, tracing their origins, their entrenchment within vastly different social and economic landscapes, and their ultimate demise in the nineteenth century. Drawing on a wealth of primary sources from both sides of the Atlantic, Kolchin presents a rigorous and illuminating argument: that despite their geographic and cultural distance, these two systems of unfree labor share striking structural similarities — and equally revealing differences — that shed new light on the nature of human exploitation and resistance. Kolchin's analytical precision is matched by his ability to synthesize complex historical forces into a coherent and compelling narrative, positioning Unfree Labor as a cornerstone of comparative history. He argues that the relationship between master and bondsman, the mechanics of social control, and the psychology of both oppressor and oppressed transcend national boundaries, revealing universal patterns of domination. Published by the prestigious Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, this work remains essential reading for anyone seeking to understand how societies rationalize and sustain inequality — and what it truly costs to dismantle it.