Download PDF The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today

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The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today

Download PDF The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today

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Review

“An informative call to action . . . a humane and helpful primer on how to sever the links that create and hide human bondage.” (Publishers Weekly 2009-05-04)“Will likely change the way you understand your community.” (Deborah Fink Friends Journal 2010-05-07)“Anyone wanting a better understanding of the ongoing problem of slavery in the United States―and their own role in perpetuating or eradicating it―should read this book.” (Charles Song California Lawyer 2010-01-01)"Essential reading for anyone interested in human rights. . . . [The authors] appeal to the reader's sense of justice and compassion." (Tiffany Williams Foreign Policy In Focus 2009-05-18)"If you read one book on human trafficking this year, make it The Slave Next Door. . . . Digestible, enjoyable, and ultimately uplifting." (Change.org 2009-05-14)"With the help of this great book . . . we can shift from ignoring this crude reality to [eradicating] this abominable practice." (African Politics Portal 2009-05-13)“An arresting volume.” (History Wire 2009-07-14)

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From the Inside Flap

"Once again, Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter make us confront a tragic reality―there are as many as 27 million people trapped in modern slavery worldwide. In this book, we hear the voices of survivors and those who are fighting every day for freedom."―Congressman John Conyers, Jr., Chair of the House Judiciary Committee"Most Americans believe that slavery in our country ended with the Emancipation Proclamation. They are wrong. As Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter document in this excellent volume, human bondage is a reality for thousands of children, women and men living in the United States. The Slave Next Door exposes slavery in today's America in all its forms, and sounds a call to arms to government, corporations, and private citizens alike."―Kerry Kennedy, Founder, Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights"This is a book to make you angry. From Florida field workers who pick some of the fruits and vegetables we eat to prisoners in China who make desk lamps we can buy at Wal-Mart, Bales and Soodalter show us the manifold ways that unfree labor is woven into the American economy. And, most important, they show us what we can do to stop it."―Adam Hochschild, author of Bury the Chains and King Leopold's Ghost

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Product details

Paperback: 336 pages

Publisher: University of California Press; Second Edition, With a New Preface edition (August 23, 2010)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 9780520268661

ISBN-13: 978-0520268661

ASIN: 0520268660

Product Dimensions:

6 x 0.8 x 9 inches

Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.5 out of 5 stars

68 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#163,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

This book is rich with facts concerning human trafficking and sex trafficking in the U.S. I gained a great deal of information from it. On the downside, it is a little too anecdotal in some places and too preachy in others. (I prefer to draw my own conclusions from documented facts.)

Whether you a police officer, victim service provider, a student, a community member, an academic or anyone wanting to really identify issues and factual information about human trafficking, this is the source above all others. One can pick up the book and go to any section to find out "how" better to become effectively involved in prevention, prosecution, or understanding victims and their long road back to a sense of self-worth. This is a book that should be mandatory reading as a source book and yet a book that gives common sense advice in order to stop modern day slavery.

Most Americans believe that slavery is either dead or something that occurs in far off places to foreign people and thusly does not exist or concern us. Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter dispels these myths in The Slave Next Door. Through a combination of cold hard facts and personal stories of exploitation, cohesion, and enslavement. Unlike other books that only focus on one aspect of slavery ( like the sex trade), Bales and Soodalter premise is that no form of slavery is justified and talks deeply about systems of agricultural labor, domestics, and sex slavery and argue that the traffickers will continue to find inventive ways to enslave and exploit others. We have a role in the slave system because we get items like hand-woven rugs from India, Pakistan, and Nepal , steel and metals used in cars is obtained from Brazil after the charcoal has been collected by slaves in Brazil and most distressingly we may be eating products produced from slave labor brought to us by America's largest corporations.Bales and Soodalter further attack the notion that sex trafficking is only a problem for foreign born women in this country by illustrative cases like that of Dennis Paris who used heroin addiction to control several American born, naturalized citizens into a web of prostitution. The last portion of the book is dedicated to an assessment of United States policy towards victims of Modern Day Slavery by going through agency by agency in the federal government and discussing the steps they are taking to combat the problem. One thing that comes out of here is that NGO's that deal with human slavery are hideously under funded and are in desperate need of skilled labor and this is key when he discusses at the end, what we as Americans can do about modern slavery.

Four starts say I like this book. The terminology is not appropriate. How can you "like" reading about slavery in America. I really hadn't thought about it before, but this opened my eyes, maybe a little too wide.This is very completely researched and analyzed, and full of specific stories and situations throughout the country. From farm labor slavery in Florida to sex slavery in New York, to house slaves in Seattle. We see these people more than we know, but I had no idea about the reality of their bondage. They are held in place by physical and mental abuse, fear, and in some cases physical restraint.Read their stories and open your eyes. It is not a happy picture, but the lesson is we can all do something about it. Find out what. Read the book.

A must have for anyone wanting to understand the wide scope of human exploration and trafficking.Starts with a history and background. Shows the laws enacted to protect those exploited or trafficked.Has examples of true stories of survivors, exploiters and redemption.I would highly recommend this amazing book, but be prepared to experience several emotions: disbelief, anger, fear, helplessness, frustration, etc. You will not regret purchasing this book.

Great read! I knew this went on, but not on this level. I would have liked to have thought that this does not happen in the U.S., but it does. The third largest criminal enterprise, just behind drugs and guns. This book would be a revelation for most, as they do not realize that human trafficking exists in this country. I cannot recommend this book enough. It is clearly an eye opener.

Kevin Bales packs a lot of information into this book. Whether you are familiar with human trafficking or not, this book will provide you with a plethora of facts and points to think about. I was quite shocked by some of the information in the book. I urge you to read this book to find out more about a hidden problem that needs to be exposed.

Very detailed information about the multiple forms of slavery that is all around us.

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Product details

File Size: 5700 KB

Print Length: 240 pages

Publisher: OUP Oxford; 4 edition (April 16, 2009)

Publication Date: April 16, 2009

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Language: English

ASIN: B0072G4I4E

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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#455,160 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Shame on Oxford Publications- While reading ONLY the 'view inside this book" link, I saw 2-3 typos! I have an editorial eye, I admit, but caliber of writing is so poor, I was shocked. I won't be buying it.

Lots of great info in this atlas but I was very irritated with the maps. Not enough of them and important map details were often hidden in the crease. I should have looked for an earlier edition. Also it didn’t have a gazetteer that other editions seem to have.

Seems short of objective content. This edition is newer. Maybe it's riding on the coattails of its predecessor?

Excellent book and a great seller.

I'm really enjoying this book. It's much more than an Atlas. It has a lot of information. Well done.

This Atlas was disappointing, first because the print is too tiny to read, and when you pinch to zoom in, it all becomes blurred. Secondly, the maps themselves provide little detailed information. On my device the map appears on one side of what is mainly a blank page. There was plenty of room for labels, but none were given. The Roman numeral labels are explained in narratives several pages away, with no links to take you back to the map. For example, the map for the period of Joshua and Judges could have labels, showing where Deborah fought Sisera, where Gideon tested his men by watching how they drank water, and where Samson fought the Philistines. Instead you are only given the general divisions of the 12 tribes, and impossible-to-read city names. I wish there was a map of the Jezreel Valley, and the surrounding hills, labeling Mt. Carmel, Gilboa etc. so the reader can see the significance of that area. There should be a map highlighting the distance from Bozrah to Armageddon, one of the Sea of Galilee making the major points of the Lord's ministry. None of these are offered.

A Bible atlas is essential for any student of Scripture. While there are numerous such books available, the Oxford Bible Atlas is superb for the price. The atlas is full of information and photos of outstanding quality. This atlas is a perfect option for those looking to purchase an excellent resource without having to break the bank.

Just not what I expected - I wanted more information available - I was more interested in maps and less interested in the extended content about a limited numer of places - I found that information informative and enjoyed the reading but am looking for an atlas that better suits my needs.

Contains good information but the problem is that there are many important pages which are just totally blank so there are breaks in the continuity - should be half the price that it is

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Eventown, by Corey Ann Haydu

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From School Library Journal

Gr 5-7-What would you give up to always be content, to never experience grief or intense anger? Would you give up choice, variety, creativity, joy? These are exactly the questions addressed when Elodee and her twin sister Naomi move with their parents to Eventown in order to get a fresh start in their lives. The family has experienced something terrible-an unknown event from which they have not been able to recover. All of that changes upon the family's arrival in their new town. It is quite literally a place where the sun always shines. There are no cars needed in Eventown since everyone bikes, the neighbors are friendly, and their new school is pleasant. Her parents are happy, as if the strain on them has been lifted, and her sister fits in like a glove. Elodee is only one who feels a distant strangeness, as if it is all a little too pleasant. Elodee begins to question her "perfect" new home. She notices that all the houses look exactly the same, the library is filled with blank books, and the ice cream shop only serves three flavors. Elodee must being to unravel her family's past in order to figure out what's missing and find true emotional closure for all of them. ­VERDICT An emotionally complex and wonderfully told story that will capture tween readers.-Patricia Feriano, Montgomery County Public Schools, MDα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review

“Would life be better if we could forget the past? That’s the question Corey Ann Haydu poses in her engrossing Eventown. With its embedded questions about the consequences of erasing all your problems, Eventown will doubtless hit many a middle grade reader’s sweet spot.” (New York Times Book Review)“A wonderful and inventive story about being a kid in an imperfect world—beautiful, mysterious, and deeply satisfying.” (Rebecca Stead, Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Reach Me and Goodbye Stranger)★ “At once enchanting, heart-rending, and bittersweet.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))★ “An emotionally complex and wonderfully told story.” (School Library Journal (starred review))★ “[A] thought-provoking novel... [A] memorable and brave heroine.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review))“Readers will feel for the brave, unconventional Elodee, who both affirms her individuality but also feels the loneliness of it... A hope-tinged tale about the long aftermath of tragedy.” (ALA Booklist)“Haydu brings a different dimension with real poignancy... less The Giver and more Pleasantville... [Eventown] will reel in readers looking for family dramas as well as those seeking a little ideological stretching, and it will leave them with plenty to discuss about the price of walling yourself off from pain.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books)“A marvelous defense of messiness, mistakes, and uncomfortable conversations ... this book is pure Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Pleasantville.” (Betsy Bird of Fuse 8)“Corey Ann Haydu doesn’t shy away from tough topics in her books. Eventown is no exception.” (Time for Kids)“[An] original, thought-provoking and engaging novel exploring how our stories shape us and can help us heal from even the most terrible loss... Haydu offers an inspired creation in the “perfect world” of Eventown.” (Buffalo News)

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Product details

Age Range: 8 - 12 years

Grade Level: 3 - 7

Hardcover: 336 pages

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (February 12, 2019)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0062689800

ISBN-13: 978-0062689801

Product Dimensions:

5.5 x 1.1 x 8.2 inches

Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.0 out of 5 stars

2 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#13,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Every year various dictionaries and encyclopedias try to determine what the Word of the Year is, and every year they make some pretty good choices. Here’s one that I don’t think they’ve done yet, but that’s been on a lot of minds anyway: Discomfort. There’s been a lot of talk about it lately, particularly in terms of the value of uncomfortable/valuable conversations. I am, personally, a person who tends to avoid discomfort at all costs, and my privilege is that I can too often do so. Only because I live in this age and this era of America can I see where avoiding the messiness of living in this world is potentially dangerous, not to mention irresponsible. So, to the year 2019, I hand this middle grade novel. In Eventown by Corey Ann Haydu, you’ll find a marvelous defense of messiness, mistakes, and uncomfortable conversations. We all want to run away from our problems, but it’s like that old phrase says: Be careful what you wish for.It happened in the past. It hurt. Now Elodee’s family is in pain. Her father, her mother, her twin sister Naomi, and Elodee herself all feel burdened by something that they can’t even talk about anymore. So when Elodee and Naomi’s mom gets a job working for the village of Eventown, they simply cannot believe their luck. Eventown’s the kind of place where you can get a fresh start. It’s where the neighbors all get together to make you a recipe box of delicious things you couldn’t burn or ruin if you tried. Where the kids in school never tease you. Where the sunsets are miraculous and the stars, if it’s at all possible, shine brighter than anywhere you’ve ever been. At first Elodee is swept up in the joy of living in such a place, but as time goes on she begins to see oddities. Why does her yard have weeds when no one else’s does? Why do the other kids act so aghast when she tries a different s’mores recipe? And why, oh why, can’t Elodee just give in to the place and be happy here? It takes a lot to live in Eventown, so what Elodee needs to determine is whether or not it’s worth it in the end.Childhood utopias automatically come outfitted with built-in weirdness. It’s part of the deal. Hogwarts had a snake in the basement. Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory had a peculiar tendency to knock off small visitors. You get the drift. These locations have a natural fantasy component that taps into a child’s ultimate desire (magic, chocolate, etc.). Less common is the idea of a perfect town. Even so, it’s there. When I was a kid I’d write short stories about a little town where I could make up all the families and characters. There was a comfort to it. Think of what Harriet M. Welch is doing in at the beginning of Harriet the Spy. And I think Haydu’s being very clever with this book because what’s truly fearful about Eventown is its seductiveness. Remember that line in the musical Into the Woods that Little Red Riding Hood sings about the wolf? “Nice is different than good.” Going to Eventown is like a crash course in nice vs. good. And the problem with nice, as a whole bunch of us know, is that it can be weaponized in the fight against truth.Reading the book I was intrigued by how the creepy elements of the tale sneak in at a glacial rate. So much so that I found myself silently chanting, “Come on other shoe … drop, man, drop. Drop, man, drop!” Drop it does, but in slow motion. Need a novel for 9-12 year olds that epitomizes the very definition of “foreshadowing”? Meet my little friend here. It knows that some of the most effective horror comes from the people we love the most. Elodee’s whole family has drunk the Eventown Kool-Aid without so much as a blink, but she doesn’t see that for a long time. Instead, she has to encounter what I consider one of the most frightening concepts of all time. Loving, patient kindness combined with insane actions, resulting in the kind of villainy I’ve never really seen in a children’s book before. The adults in this town aren’t passive aggressive so much as they’re completely dedicated to horrible inanities. Let’s put it this way: You can’t help but like a book where the foreshadowing centers around a town’s lack of library. Or, even better, the horror of what it becomes. Honestly, not since The Great Gatsby has a library been as much of a lie as the one found here. What happens to the town library will strike many kids as an unspeakable crime. It’s a very clever means of turning kids against the notion of comfort and stability at any cost.As I read, I kept finding natural connections to this book. Certainly in terms of cinema this book is pure Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Pleasantville. In terms of children’s books the tie-in is Orphan Island (more on that later). I was even reminded of that moment in A Wrinkle in Time where Meg confronts It and must parse the difference between equal and the same. But when I really sat down and thought about it, the best equivalent to this, in a lot of ways, is Aldous Huxley’s, Brave New World. It might as well be Elodee saying “I'd rather be myself . . . Myself and nasty. Not somebody else, however jolly.” Or, “If one's different, one's bound to be lonely.” And, ultimately, the perfect quote for it all: “Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.” Huxley said it first, but it’s nice to have something on a younger level for the kids. Eventown is the perfect gateway drug for “Brave New World” later on.I mean, this might be an out there idea, but is it possible that this book is a metaphor for what it feels like to have depression? Elodee is constantly having to defend herself against the accusation of not trying to be happy. Her sister says, “You’re making something easy so hard.” Here’s how Elodee thinks of it instead, “There’s a grip in my heart, and Naomi’s right here but she feels a million miles away, on a whole other planet, and she gets to be there with Mom and Dad and I’m stuck here, on my weird little planet all alone. I want to explain all of that to her, but every time I try to explain what is making me feel unsettled or weird, all I do is get further and further away.” When her sister tries to cheer her up (with guilt, which in my experience always works so very very well) it says, “… I try to make Naomi grinning at me enough to make me grin too. I am trying so, so hard.” All throughout the book Elodee has to deal with a world where she feels like she’s the only one who has to try this hard. It’s a deeply lonely experience, and I couldn’t help but think of people with depression who have to deal with concerned friends and family members who say unhelpful things like, “Why don’t you just get over yourself?” and “Why don’t you want to be happy?” Like Elodee says, they try so, so hard, but often that’s not the issue. The real issue is deep and buried. In the case of this book, literally so.Again, the book that I kept thinking about the most as I read this was Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder. In both cases you have a mysterious location, otherworldly occurrences, and a girl on the cusp of teenagerhood with whom the world does not sit well. Both live in kinds of utopias. There the similarities stop, though. In Orphan Island things start to go wrong because the heroine questions the way things are, and that’s a bad thing. In Eventown things start to go wrong because the heroine questions the way things are, and that’s a good thing. In both books she dares to question the world. In only one book does that choice go well. Why do these books ring oddly true with kids? Because in the real world, adults withhold pertinent information from their children all the time. This is not necessarily a bad thing since there are many things in this world that kids just aren’t ready to know. I guess the root of it is, to a certain extent, intent. Are you keeping kids in the dark because it protects them or because it protects you?I wouldn’t think of this, any of this if it weren’t for Haydu putting it all together so well. There’s a patience to her writing. She must have had so much fun thinking up exactly how much fun to make Eventown. The different flavors of ice cream, the delicious green strawberries, the waterfalls, the gigantic blueberries, the butterfly house, the copper cooking equipment, all of it. Her book burns slow, but once things start getting weird it speeds up considerably, like weeds spreading in the night. I liked a lot of how she chose to phrase things, like when Elodee thinks of herself as, “…a tiny, cozy, ball of limbs.” Or when the dad says, “Love has a lot to do with imperfections,” which may as well be the theme of the book itself. The only part of the book that didn’t quite gel with me came at the end. I liked where the book went, but (and this is a funny thing to say) it felt too tidy. Not messy enough. There was satisfaction there, but I think it needed just a hair more of a conclusion. There’s a big discovery, words are said, words are listened to, and then we’re outta here!! The mom, especially, does a turnaround that didn’t feel real to me. I needed a little more thought there. Kids would probably not agree.Years ago there was an episode of the Radiolab podcast about a moment in history when a scientist truly believed he might have found a way to remove select memories from people’s brains. The scientist was then flooded with desperate requests from people around the world. These people were begging him to remove the pain of the past from their brains. This connects, for me, to the moment in this book when it starts to rain. When that happens, some of the neighbors go out of their way to express pure fury at Elodee’s family. It’s very much a case of them essentially saying, “Your discomfort is reminding me of my discomfort.” We want so very much to find ourselves a blank slate of some sort. No bad past, no fearful future. And kids, the age of the readers of this book, already have a sense of this. Some of this book’s readers will have encountered fearful, horrible, terrible things in their pasts. Some of them will encounter these things in their futures. And a bunch of them will look at Eventown, even with all its flaws, and want to go there in the same way that kids have wanted to go to Hogwarts for years. There is no Eventown. Not even Eventown is Eventown. I won’t tell you that’s good or bad. You’re just going to have to read this book and decide for yourself.For ages 9-12.

Remembering is important. Even when it hurts. Even when it tears you open. Our stories are what bring color, texture, light and dark, to our lives.Elodee’s family wants to forget. They want a fresh start where it doesn’t hurt and Eventown seems like the perfect place for that. There, every day is sunny, the ice cream flavors are reliable, and there’s nothing to make anyone feel bad.Elodee quickly begins to realize how much she’s losing when she gives up her stories, even the ones that hurt.Haydu‘s story is told at a slow and steady pace. It seems at first to be about a family that just needs to be a fresh start, but becomes a story about how important telling our stories and sharing our feelings is to healing and to who we are.

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