The main differences between books for an academic audience and popular non-fiction are usually: 1) citations and references abound in the former, and 2) the former tends to posit a thesis and then prove it, while the latter builds suspense and reveals the facts toward the end of a paragraph and/or chapter. The academic audience will feel comfortable with this book, which draws heavily from the literary texts it examines, and references (with footnotes) many others. The writing style is academic, but not so as to be incomprehensible to other interested readers. It is an important addition to the conversation of how we need at this moment to truly recognize how indelibly slavery shaped our nation.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.