Owning people: latest nonfiction on the institution of slavery dig deeper into a troubling subject.

If you think historians are not interested in understanding the institution of slavery in America and its legacy, think again. More than two dozen books we found published in the last year alone seem to probe every corner and fact of human Ownership as experienced in Africa, Britain, South America, the United States, and the West Indies. as well as the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade that fed the system. Here are some recent titles that probe this topic

African American Southerners in Slavery, Civil War and Reconstruction Claude H. Nolen McFarland, August 2005 35, ISBN 0-786-42451-6

Black-and-white pictures and popular chants and songs of the times are sprinkled throughout this anthology that breaks down the life and times of the people who lived through these eras.

The Atlantic Slave University Press of Florida, August 2005, $24.95, ISBN 0-813-02906-6

An in-depth look at the voyage many ancestors made through the "Middle Passage" (Atlantic Ocean) and the life of slavery that awaited them on the other side.

A Place to Remember: A Journey of African Americans in Cobb County, Georgia by Patrice Shelton Lassiter Powerpointe, 2004 $25, ISBN 0-972-63760-5

This book uses reprints of documents and pictures to capture the generational history of one county in Georgia. The author also uses her own poetry and thoughts to describe the essence of this location.

Behind The Scenes or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House by Elizabeth Keckley Penguin Classics, July 2005 $14, ISBN 0-143-03924-5

The narrative of Elizabeth Keckley, a dressmaker in Washington, D.C. Who purchased her own freedom and became close to her most prominent client, Mary Todd Lincoln, is reissued.

Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves by Adam Hothschild

Houghton Mifflin, January 2005 $26.95, ISBN 0-618-10469-0 Hothschild studies the backgrounds and lives of brave men who led antislavery efforts in England.

Chocolate on Trial: Slavery, Politics and the Ethics of Business by Lowell J. Satre Ohio University Press, July 2005 $55.00, ISBN 0-821-41625-1

The author explores the story of famous chocolate maker Cadbury's, which came under fire for purchasing chocolate from the slave-holding Agua Ize Plantation in Portuguese West Africa.

Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged and Profited from Slavery by Anne Farrow, Joel Lang and Jennifer Frank Ballantine, September 2005 $29.95, ISBN 0-345-46782-5

Think you know the North's role in slave-trade history? Using historical documents accounts and archives, these three authors, all journalists from the Hartford Courant dug up some startling facts that will not let you look at the North in the same way again.

Confederate Emancipation: Southern Plans to Free and Arm Slaves During the Civil War by Bruce Levine Oxford University Press, January 2006, $29.95, ISBN 0-195-14762-6

During a battle in the Civil War, it was proposed that any slaves who fought for the Confederacy be set free. Though initially rejected, a form of the original proposal was adopted and is chronicled here.

Creating the Creole Island: Slavery in Eighteenth Century Maritius by Megan Vaughan Duke University Press, March 2005 $23.95, ISBN 0-822-33399-6

The story of a once resource-rich island near Madagascar and its many varied inhabitants, including lost seafarers, pirates, slaves, Dutchmen, Frenchmen, and now-extinct dodo birds.

Degrees of Freedom: Louisiana and Cuba After Slavery by Rebecca J. Scott Belknap Press, October 2005 $29.95, ISBN 0-674-01932-6

Scott traces the very different manner in which Louisiana and Cuba (once considered sugar country because of the plantations and processing that happened there) dealt with life post-Emancipation.

From Property to Person: Slavery and the Confiscation Acts by Silvana R. Siddall Louisiana State University Press February 2005, $44.95 ISBN 0-807-13042-7

Another chapter in the North vs. South Civil War era where southern states seceded from the North and threatened to take bordering lands with them.

John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights by David S. Reynolds Knopf, April 2005 $35, ISBN 0-375-41188-7

A retelling of a remarkable episode among early abolitionist causes--the story of the brave seed planter John Brown, who challenged people to consider the possibility of seizing their own freedom.

Labor of Innocents: Forced Apprenticeship in North Carolina, 1715-1919 by Karin L. Zipf Louisiana State University Press May 2005, $42.95 ISBN 0-807-13045-1

A look at the widespread practice under which poor children in North Carolina were taken from their families and forced to work in apprenticeship. One was a young Andrew Johnson. who fled with his brother and eventually became the president to follow after Abraham Lincoln.

Neptune's Honor by Pamela Bauer Mueller Pinata Publishing, February 2005 $16.99, ISBN 0-968-50976-2

This book is based on the life of Neptune Small, a servant who went off to the war and fought side-by-side with master's son.

No Taint of Compromise: Crusaders in Antislavery Politics by Frederick J. Blue Louisiana State University Press January 2005, $54.95 ISBN 0-807-12976-3

The author tells of individuals in political power, who, beginning in the 1830s and beyond, spoke boldly and publicly of the need for emancipation of all slaves.

Ouidah: The Social History of a West African Slaving 'Port' 1727-1892 by Robin Law Ohio University Press, April 2005 $49.95, ISBN 0-821-41571-9

Law gives a thorough historical account of one of West Africa's key slave ports.

Romantic Colonization and British Anti-Slavery by Deirdre Coleman Cambridge University Press January 2005, $75.00 ISBN 0-521-63213-7

As slavery in Britain ended, interest in returning former slaves to their[ native country took flight. The colonies in Africa were born out of this movement and it was semiglorified by some. Here, in these colonies, we learn of life in these fragile areas of the world.

Slavery and African Ethnicities in the Americas by Gwendolyn Midlo Hall University of North Carolina Press September 2005, $34.95 ISBN 0-807-82973-0

The study discusses African peoples, influence on the cultures and places where they landed and the reactions to these influences. Charts, graphs and photos add context.

Slave Nation: How Slavery United the Colonies and Sparked the American Revolution by Alfred W. and Ruth G. Blumrosen Sourcebooks, February 2005 $24.95, ISBN 1-402-20400-0

The abolition of slavery in England, caused a widespread panic among the people in the United States who profited from slavery. The book challenges readers to consider slavery's role in the formation of the nation.

Slavery in New York by Ira Berlin and Leslie M. Harris The New Press, October 2005 $22.50, ISBN 1-565-84997-3

"Company slaves" belonging to the Dutch West India Company were some of the first black New Yorkers (or, New Netherlanders, as the case might have been). This work decribes their lives as enslaved New Yorkers, as well as the lives of other slaves in the city.

Stono: Documenting and Interpreting a Southern Slave Revolt Edited by Mark Smith University of South Carolina Press November 2005 $14. ISBN 1-570-03605-5

The violent rebellion in 1739 in South Carolina, where slaves marched beside the Stono River toward Spanish Florida, killing and burning where necessary, to stake their freedom claims.

Though the Heavens May Fall: The Landmark Trial That Led to the End of Human Slavery by Steven M. Wise Merloyd Lawrence Books, February 2005 $25, ISBN 0-738-20695-4

Wise examines the Somerset trial and events that led up to it, as well as the abolition of slavery in England during the 1700s.

Uncle Tom Mania: Slavery, Minstrelsy and Transatlantic Culture in the 1850s by Sarah Meer University of Georgia Press, July 2005, $24.95, ISBN 0-820-2737-9

An in-depth look at the 1850s bestseller Uncle Tom's Cabin and the frenzy (for better or worse) it caused, including the public's opinion of African descendants and use of them as entertainment icons.

We Were Always Free: The Maddens of Culpepper County, Virginia by T.O. Madden, Jr. University of Virginia Press June 2005, $16.95, ISBN 0-813-92371-9

Written by the late T.O. Madden Jr., this book chronicles the descendants of Sarah Madden, a remarkable woman who worked off her indenture and went on to create a lineage that was not subjected to slavery.