This is third title in Thorkild Hansen's classic trilogy on the Atlantic slave trade; originally published in Danish in 1967; and the first major translation and publication of the work in English. In Europe and North America; few are aware that the beautiful and now wealthy Virgin Islands of St Thomas; St Croix and St Jan were once Danish settlements and outposts of the slave trade. Moreover that the question of the independence of the islands was never seriously considered by the Danes; who instead sold them to the US in 1917 for 25 million dollars; several decades after the official end of slavery. This was against the will of the majority of the islanders; who were opposed to rule by the Americans; wary of their iniquitous treatment of blacks. In Denmark meanwhile; the popular view of national history presides that Denmark was the first of the imperial powers to abolish the slave trade. Thorkild Hansen's work breaks with these miss- representations of Denmark's role in the Atlantic slave trade. The third and biggest volume in the trilogy covers the period from the introduction of African slaves to the Danish islands; their official emancipation in 1848; subsequent sale to the Americans in the twentieth century; and reactions and resistance to these processes. Scrutinizing Denmark's moral obligation towards the islanders; the author draws extensively on primary sources; dramatizing and depicting real life characters into a moving and descriptive narrative. The introduction is provided by the historian A.V. Adams who states that ' Hansen's trilogy and Dako's scholarly initiative and competence in translating it contributes not only to Danes' re-reading of their own history; but also to West Indians' understanding of theirs... Hansen and Darko's contribution reaches beyond the Caribbean into the larger history of African-diaspora slave resistance... And inasmuch as the islands under consideration of the United States of America; this book through its translation becomes a text of US historiography...'
#596871 in Books 2013-10-07Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.31 x 1.68 x 6.53l; 2.30 #File Name: 9745240133666 pages
Review
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful. Exceptionally good work by a true expert on Buddhist tantraBy Timothy ConwayThis is a stupendously good book for those with any interest in the 3 phases of Buddhist development--the early period of the Buddha and his disciples and the so-called "Old Wisdom" phase of Buddhism; the Mahayana phase; and; especially; the rise of Vajrayana/Tantrayana/Mantrayana. This last phase is what Snellgrove specializes in and he has done an impressive job of presenting his vast erudition to the reader.Many people will come to Snellgrove's Indo-Tibetan Buddhism specifically due to their interest in and perhaps practice of Vajrayana Buddhism of the Tibetan variety and will be most drawn to the book's Part V on Buddhism's introduction to Tibet and its flourishing in that land.But many of us; interested in the precise details and mysterious enigmas of the formative period of Tantric (Vajrayana) Buddhism as it arose in India; will find Snellgrove's very long Part III on the rise and complex development of Vajrayana to be SUPERLATIVE--probably the best overall treatment of this multi-faceted topic in the English language. (Note: Part III is pp. 117-303 in the Shambhala 2002 revised; single-volume edition; and so; at over 180 pages; not including many other references to tantra elsewhere; and maps; footnotes [so much easier to read than endnotes!]; etc.; represents a book-length treatise on just this one topic.)Snellgrove knows **many** of the few dozen most important of the early; middle; and late Buddhist tantras in their original languages; and offers lengthy quotes from the most relevant passages in each of these tantras to illustrate or back up a point he is making in his text. He is; truly; one of the world's experts on Buddhist tantra; and explores interesting themes and discrepancies I've not seen with any other writers on the topic; even the prodigious Alex Wayman (not to mention younger writers like Thurman; Hopkins; et al.).Moreover; he brings a candor to the topics at hand; showing how the Buddhist tantras diverge on important topics; such as the specific Deities in the 3- and 5- and 6-Buddha families; and on the controversies over whether sexual yoga and the offering of "foul" sacramental ingredients are to be literally enacted or performed only symbolically. He also demolishes the later Tibetan idea that any of these tantras can really be hierarchically ordered according the the well-known (but dubiously based) "four classes" (Action Class; Performance Class; Yoga Class; and Highest Yoga Class tantras).I could go on and on about this wonderful Part III; which is so filled with delightful surprises and riveting insights. If one has ANY interest in Buddhist tantra and likes a writer who doesn't "dumb down" his subject matter but goes into the rich details on a wide array of topics connected with tantra; then just this Part III alone is worth the price of the book.But then one also gets with this book all its other parts; such as Part IV's information-rich treatment of Buddhism as it developed in Central Asia and Nepal; and Part V on the schools of Buddhism in Tibet.Get the book and learn something from an expert (and non-apologist) about the crucial set of developments in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism.10 of 11 people found the following review helpful. Good Reference Book on Tibetan BuddhismBy Ma JosephineI recommand this book for one who want a good reference book on Tibetan Buddhism. This book is imformative and has a reasonably comprehensive coverage on all the most important areas in Tibetan Buddhism. This book is certainly a good bargain and has a good "useful information per dollar" ratio; especially when compared to many other books in the market.This book has also been referred to and cited by many other scholars and is a respected authority in this area.
