A book about slavery in the West Indies and British abolition by David Ryden, associate professor of history at University of Houston-Downtown, has made it to a prestigious list that guides librarians across the country as they add to their undergraduate library collections.
Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries magazine, a source for librarians overseeing undergraduate collections, included Ryden’s book, “West Indian Slavery and British Abolition, 1783-1807,” on its list of Outstanding Academic Titles for 2009.
In his book, Ryden reasons that an unprofitable sugar cane industry primarily pushed the British government to end the slave trade, not political concerns about slavery itself. He studied documents from the London-based Society of West Indies Planters and Merchants, meeting minutes, family records and Parliament history in researching the subject.
“The planters were facing an economic crisis in the early 1800s,” says Ryden, who teaches U.S. and British colonial history at UHD. “In the Jamaican records, I found evidence that the British planters needed the slave trade for their economic model to work. They had overinvested in the sugar industry when profits were good during the 1700s. When Cuba entered the market, Europe was flooded with sugar and it brought prices and profits down. The planters’ argument that the sugar industry was too big to fail was no longer valid to Parliament. A trend toward free trade from mercantilism, and pressure from abolitionists, made it easier for Parliament to end its support of the slave trade and the British planter class.”
Choice reviewer, R. P. Gildrie, professor emeritus of history, Austin Peay State University, rated the book “essential” for libraries that serve upper-division undergraduates and above. Of the more than 25,000 books submitted to the magazine for consideration as an Outstanding Academic Title, only 652 made the list. Choice editors base their selections on the reviewer's evaluation of the work, the editor's knowledge of the field and the reviewer's record.
It is important the book also made the end-of-the-year list of scholarly books and electronic resources, according to Pat Ensor, UHD’s W. I. Dyke’s executive director of library services.
“Choice is the only national review for scholarly books and resources,” she said. “Academic libraries look at it every month and buy books based on the list. The end-of-the-year list is even more important because most libraries will buy almost everything on it. This list is considered the best for scholarly books.” The Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, publishes Choice magazine.
“All the work since my dissertation led me to write this book,” Ryden said. “My paid research leave in 2006 was a big help. Without it, it would have taken me longer to do the research. I was also able to get grants to research archives in Great Britain and the West Indies.”
Scholars and students who want to purchase a copy of the book will have to wait for the next printing. The hard covers are sold-out. Ryden says Cambridge University Press plans a second printing, this time featuring more affordable paperbacks. The UHD W. I. Dykes Library has two copies of the book for use inside the library.
Book Information:
Ryden, David Beck. “West Indian slavery and British abolition, 1783-1807,” Cambridge, 2009. 332p., ISBN 9780521486590, $80.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 / UHD Public Affairs
