The Slave Ship: A Human History is a book written by American author, scholar, professor and historian Marcus Rediker. It was first published in October 2007 by Penguin Books in the United States, and December 2007 by Viking books in the United Kingdoms before being re-published in 2008 in both countries, publisher still being Penguin Books in the United States while the book was picked up by John Murray publishing firm.
The story centered around literal slave ships from the American history in the eighteenth century. Marcus Rediker bases the stories of real papers, ships and facts he has spend thirty of his years studying, before finally shedding a light on what the slave ships really were like. He does this through a documentary-drama form, where a story is told whilst facts are served.
While the story is based on facts and gives the reader much insight to how the slave ships were, including why so many people died on them, it is still interesting. Many people were emotionally affected whist reading the book, which is how it hold the reader in. The book won the George Washington Book Prize in 2008, as well as the Merle Curti Award the same year.
