A history of black life outside of Africa provides a cross-cultural analysis that covers five centuries and encompasses religion and politics, language and literature, and music and art, and reveals that dispersed cultures have an organic, coherent identity. Segal was the first white South African to join the African National Congress; in political exile in Britain he edited the prestigious Penguin African Library. Now he draws on all the best sources to give us a sweeping, eloquent history that integrates the black experience outside Africa over five centuries. Instead of the usual collection of individual scholarly essays on this subject, his strong narrative connects the U.S., Britain, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Canada. He looks at where the people came from; how they were torn away by the Atlantic slave trade; their experience of slavery, emancipation, and continuing racism; their courage, defiance, culture, and creativity. From Haiti to Detroit, from Brazil to Jamaica, his discussion is both universal and focused on particulars of place and culture. Some of the best sections are based on his own observations of various countries and his personal delight in black literature, music, and painting. Segal writes with clarity and with considerable subtlety, never overidealizing the past, candid about both the oppression and the vision of freedom; he combines the objectivity of the outsider with the passion of the committed. A natural choice for college courses, this book will also attract a wide general audience. Selection of the History Book Club, Book-of-the-Month Club, and Quality Paperback Book Club. Hazel Rochman South African-born Ronald Segal is the founding editor of the Penguin African Library, and the author of books including The Crisis of India , The Race War , The Americans and The Black Diaspora .