I had no idea of the extent of "modern" slavery. This book reveals some of globalization's losers: how people become slaves and what keeps them enslaved. Jesus wept . . .
The book was delivered quickly and on time. Read it and find out how multi-national corporations, unregulated markets, and greed propigate the new slavery. >Sam

This is a great book, although some of the information is a bit dated, but it's still a good read if you want to know about modern day slavery. The website listed probably has updated statistics.

This emotional, very heart-wrenching piece is easily recognizable for what it is, the prototypical "liberal reformer" solution to all complex social problems: Wave your hands a lot, shout loudly and then look for the most gradual, most ineffectual, and most incremental and containable solution to the problem available. Ignore theory and the root causes as long as you can, and don't worry about whether your solution actually works or even alleviates the problem; the overall goal is to keep the party going.

Surely it is improper to attack the messenger as I am currently doing, but it is equally improper for the author to raise the issue of "disposal people" at only one end of a mean-spirited global economic chain that is connected by the same economic logic and societal arrangements that produces disposable people all along its path - and not just in the Third World. To do so is as hypocritical as my unkind attack, and masks, rather than reveals, the true root causes of the problem.

The ghettos of America and of its Native American Reservations, for instance, while not engaged directly in the kind of slavery the author describes going on in other parts of the world - at least not in any formal sense -- are no less engaged in the kind of skewed economic processes that produce the same dead-end imperatives that lead directly to disposable people in India, Thailand, or Brazil.

It is the rationing of intangibles, and the rationing of access to the things that make people free, productive and their lives worth living that is the root cause of the problem. At the end of the logical chain, it is societal rationing that produces disposal people. And each nation is free to call the process any name it chooses. The point is that when examined closely, no one can argue, as the author would have us do, that the difference between the two is not simply just one of degree, rather than of kind.

American ghettos and Native American Reservations are also engaged in the same kind of human disposal processes as is true of Pakistan, India, Thailand, and Brazil. Those who doubt it probably have never heard of Katrina or watched New Orleans on CNN News. The tried and true liberal formula is to point a finger at one end of a long interconnected chain of logic that begins with some egregious sin like slavery in some "god forsaken" Third world country -- a chain that always ends in middle-class consumer goods, comfortable living and profitable investment portfolios in some equally far off First World Nation. Then one is required to pretend that there are no connections between the two poles; and worse yet, he must also pretend not to understand that it is "relative poverty" and "relative class status" that produces the sins no matter where one is along the chain. Slavery never exists in a social and economic vacuum as the author's arguments would lead us to believe.

The trick to the "liberal solution" is to sub-optimize the problem (otherwise know as to compartmentalize and remain in denial): Raise the issues, but not loudly enough to disturb either the existing global or societal arrangements, or that would probe too deeply into the economic systems and machinery that sustain the production of such disposal people. For if one probes too far, he is likely to find himself full-circle, staring himself in the mirror.

The beauty of the liberal solution outlined in this book however is that it offers much needed solace in reduced guilt for doing absolutely nothing. It keeps the game going. But in the end it is all a parlor trick, a mind game that yields benefits at both ends: Liberals get to feel good about what they are saying, but not doing, by offering piecemeal ineffective solutions, and the system of which they too are mere cogs in the wheel, continues to issue them benefits. And, most of all, the game moves along undisturbed.

As the Frederick Douglas' speech that the author cited in the last chapter of the book suggests, there can be no compromises with the kinds of evils as great as those that produce disposable people, whether one calls them "slavery," "bonded laborers," "indentured servants," "contract workers," "au pairs," "domestic servants." or "underpaid factory workers." Slavery is, as the author so carefully noted in this same section, just a matter of semantics.

Surely the author knows that there are no sub-optimal solutions short of revamping both the American and the global economy, both of which thrive on disposable people like a baby thrives on mother's milk.

Four Stars

This emotional, very heart-wrenching piece is easily recognizable for what it is, the prototypical "liberal reformer" solution to all complex social problems: Wave your hands a lot, shout loudly and then look for the most gradual, most ineffectual, and most incremental and containable solution to the problem available. Ignore theory and the root causes as long as you can, and don't worry about whether your solution actually works or even alleviates the problem; the overall goal is to keep the party going.

Surely it is improper to attack the messenger as I am currently doing, but it is equally improper for the author to raise the issue of "disposal people" at only one end of a mean-spirited global economic chain that is connected by the same economic logic and societal arrangements that produces disposable people all along its path - and not just in the Third World. To do so is as hypocritical as my unkind attack, and masks, rather than reveals, the true root causes of the problem.

The ghettos of America and of its Native American Reservations, for instance, while not engaged directly in the kind of slavery the author describes going on in other parts of the world - at least not in any formal sense -- are no less engaged in the kind of skewed economic processes that produce the same dead-end imperatives that lead directly to disposable people in India, Thailand, or Brazil.

It is the rationing of intangibles, and the rationing of access to the things that make people free, productive and their lives worth living that is the root cause of the problem. At the end of the logical chain, it is societal rationing that produces disposal people. And each nation is free to call the process any name it chooses. The point is that when examined closely, no one can argue, as the author would have us do, that the difference between the two is not simply just one of degree, rather than of kind.

American ghettos and Native American Reservations are also engaged in the same kind of human disposal processes as is true of Pakistan, India, Thailand, and Brazil. Those who doubt it probably have never heard of Katrina or watched New Orleans on CNN News. The tried and true liberal formula is to point a finger at one end of a long interconnected chain of logic that begins with some egregious sin like slavery in some "god forsaken" Third world country -- a chain that always ends in middle-class consumer goods, comfortable living and profitable investment portfolios in some equally far off First World Nation. Then one is required to pretend that there are no connections between the two poles; and worse yet, he must also pretend not to understand that it is "relative poverty" and "relative class status" that produces the sins no matter where one is along the chain. Slavery never exists in a social and economic vacuum as the author's arguments would lead us to believe.

The trick to the "liberal solution" is to sub-optimize the problem (otherwise know as remain in denial): Raise the issues, but not loudly enough to disturb either the global or societal arrangements, or that would probe too deeply into the economic systems and machinery that sustain the production of such disposal people. For if one probes too far, he is likely to find himself full-circle, staring in the mirror.
The beauty of the liberal solution outlined in this book however is that it offers much needed solace in reduced guilt for doing absolutely nothing. It keeps the game going. But it is all a parlor trick, a mind game that yields benefits at both ends: Liberals get to feel good about what they are doing, by offering piecemeal ineffective solutions, and the system of which they too are mere cogs in the wheel, and prime beneficiaries, simply moves along undisturbed.

As the Frederick Douglas' speech that the author cited in the last chapter of the book suggests, there can be no compromises with the kinds of evils as great as those that produce disposable people, whether one calls it "slavery," "bonded laborers," "indentured servants," "contract workers," "au pairs," or "domestic servants." It is, as the author noted in that same section, just a matter of semantics.

Surely the author knows that there are no sub-optimal solutions short of revamping both the American and the global economy, both of which thrive on disposable people like a baby thrives on mother's milk.

Four Stars

A sensational and touchy topic being told in a powerful fashion. It's sad to see such catastrophic things are happening in such modern societies.

The comparison that Bales' draws between the "new" slavery and the "old" slavery is the most striking revelation I have encountered yet. It is essential that people read this book to understand that slavery effects every person, either directly or indirectly, and to understand the extent to which both individuals and state government's help to perpetuate this socially constructed atrocity.
Bales gives an intimate account of slavery in different locations and the information that he presents is compelling, informative, and heartbreaking. Informed people of the world should pick up this book and begin to act.

As Bales himself points out, many people equivilate slavery with the kind that existed in the United States over 100 years ago. But that's only one tupe of slavery, thankfully long gone. However, slavery still exists in the world today and it is worse than ever. Bales book is englightening for those of us, like myself, who have trouble imagining where and how it still exists.

The book is mainly consisted of case studies, which serve as examples for each kind of slavery found in the world today. If you want to find out the social environments that allow for slavery to come into existence, then you are better of reading Bales' more in depth book "Understanding Slavery". But if you are just starting and want to know how slavery exists in the world today, this book is the one to get.

I'll admit, sometimes the writing of this book is a little redundant, as others have said, but more often then not it's interesting. You don't need to read the entirety of every chapter to get the gist of this book, because the point of it is not to compeltely educate the reader about slavery but simply to inform the reader about ways it exists still today.

After reading this book, hopefully you will feel inspired to get invovled with one of Bales' organizations, such as "Free The Slaves". Whether you can sit down and read this entire book or not is of no importance. Even simply reading the introduction and skimming the chapters is enough to englighten one to the facts, which no person can hide from.

I liked this book a lot. It was a huge eye-opener to the depressions of slavery in the world today. I never realized it was so bad. The only thing I didn't like about the book was that the author tended to say the same thing over and over. He would just re-word what he had previously stated. He could have had the same impact in less pages. I would, however, recommend this book to anyone who has an interest (or not) in slavery. Everyone needs to know that this kind of stuff goes on in our world today.

By cloak of night or false identity, Bales, the world's foremost expert on slavery, goes to the squalid homes of slaves around the globe. From the coal-making batterias in Brazil to the brothels of Thailand, from the brick factories of Pakistan to the bonded-labor farms of India, he looks into the eyes of the oppressed and gives voice to their cries.

Sometimes too academic and repetitive, this book is nonetheless a life-changing must-read. For, as Bales reminds readers, ignorance of slavery perpetuates the crime. Suggestions for fighting this insidious and slippery aspect of commerce are included at the end.

Sadly, it is not true that human slavery was abolished back in the 1800s, and in fact there are still millions of slaves in the world. There are slaves working in third world brothels, mines, farms, and sweatshops. Even some domestic servants in Western nations are technically enslaved. Here Kevin Bales explains how this is a new and modernized type of slavery. The old "classic" slavery, in which masters outwardly and legally owned other people, has disappeared around the world, except for in the oddly backward nation of Mauritania. The new slavery is not based on ethnic or religious subjugation and punishment, but is the outcome of globalized economics, as certain industries inevitably gravitate toward near-zero cost labor.

Most modern slaves are victims of "debt bondage," in which businessmen or middlemen make poor and desperate people work off their debts, but through fraudulent accounting and trickery make it impossible for the debts to be paid off, therefore gaining forced and unpaid labor. This phenomenon is tragically common in many nations, and tens of millions of people are subjected to hopeless lives of economic subjugation. Bales explores this modern slavery in several nations that are trying to convince the world that it doesn't happen within their borders, or try to justify this bondage with dissembling arguments that are disgustingly similar to those used by the old Southern plantation owners in America.

Bales does a pretty good job of describing how real, quantifiable economics and globalization processes bring this human tragedy about. However, this aspect of his analysis could be strengthened, to make a more effective argument with policy makers. I suggest that Bales team up with a reputable political scientist or economist to make this structural argument stronger. Some international readers may also take issue with Bales' introductory explanations of the cultures on which he is reporting. Statements about how Thailand's culture totally condones that nation's horrific sex industry, or how Pakistan's social structure inevitably results in internecine violence, are most likely generalizations that could be fleshed out with more sensitive research. But overall those are minor flaws. Bales gives you a very disconcerting feeling about the state of modern humanity, and about how slavery has played a part in the manufacture of many of your consumer items and the bottom line of companies in which you may have invested. [~doomsdayer520~]

If you think slavery was abolished after the American Civil War, then read this book. Schoolbooks these days are mostly filled with historical references to the evil trade in slaves. Something that was used to build empires, but eventually was overcome by a moral desire to right the wrongs of the past. But next time you buy charcoal at the local Wal-Mart, think about the human and environmental cost of your BBQ. This book gives an excellent overview of modern slavery in various forms from direct servitude to forced labor in countries like Mauritania, Brazil, Thailand, India and Pakistan to the extent of an estimated 27 million people in some sort of forced labor worldwide. As a person interested in human trafficking, I found this book gets right to the heart of why so many people are in trouble in the world. Easy and cheap labor is a necessity of global corporations, the cheaper the better. What is cheaper than someone you don't have to pay? Bales looks at not only the economic factors, but also the cultural factors involved which keep people succumbing to slavery. Many cultures regard women or certain races or ethnic groups as inferior and therefore available for exploitation. This is one hindrance in the fight against slavery. The book is very well-researched (including undercover research)and only left me wishing the book was longer and wanting to learn more.