Although slavery is illegal throughout the world, we learned from Kevin Bales's highly praised expose, Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy, that more than twenty-seven million people--in countries from Pakistan to Thailand to the United States--are still trapped in bondage. With this new volume, Bales, the leading authority on modern slavery, looks beyond the specific instances of slavery described in his last book to explore broader themes about slavery's causes, its continuation, and how it might be ended. Written to raise awareness and deepen understanding, and...

Slavery is illegal throughout the world, yet more than twenty-seven million people are still trapped in one of history's oldest social institutions. Kevin Bales's disturbing story of slavery today reaches from brick kilns in Pakistan and brothels in Thailand to the offices of multinational corporations. His investigation of conditions in Mauritania, Brazil, Thailand, Pakistan, and India reveals the tragic emergence of a -new slavery, - one intricately linked to the global economy. The new slaves are not a long-term investment as was true with older forms of slavery, explains Bales. Instead,...

There are 27 million slaves alive today - more than at any point in history. Written by the world s leading experts, this shocking examination combines original research with first-hand stories from the slaves themselves to provide a reliable account of one of the worst humanitarian crises facing us today. Looking to the future, the authors offer hope with a global blueprint that proposes to end slavery in our lifetime. Kevin Bales is president of Free the Slaves. He lives in Takoma Park, MD. Zoe Trodd and Alex Kent Williamson are history and pathology specialists respectively at Harvard...