This compelling look at the wellsprings of cultural vitality during one of the most dehumanizing experiences in history provides a fresh perspective on the African-American past.

Sidney W. Mintz is professor emeritus, department of anthropology at Johns Hopkins University. He has done extensive field research in Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Haiti, as well as in Iran. He launched a research program in Hong Kong to study the consumption and production of soybean and examine soy products in the United States. Richard Price divides his time between rural Martinique and the College of William and Mary in Virginia, where he is Dittman Professor of American Studies, anthropology, and history. His many prize-winning books include First Time and Alabi's World. The most recent, written with Sally Price, is Maroon Arts: Cultural Vitality in the African Diaspora.