"Undoubtedly one of the most complete overall studies of slavery. Ranges from detailing differences among African cultures to providing precise information on the changes traditional customs and religions underwent as a result of diaspora and enslavement."-- School Library Journal "Emphasizing the diversity of the African continent, historian Palmer looks in some detail at the development of the slave trade, the forced migration and enslavement of what is estimated to be between 10 million and 20 million people, and the roles that blacks plays in the New World in the sixteenth century. While never playing down the atrocity and suffering, he describes how an enduring African American culture developed in the diaspora."-- Booklist (starred review) "An important examination of the earliest recorded Black presence in the Americas."-- National Black Employment Directory "Although First Passage is the first volume in the Young Oxford History of African Americans, these works should be required reading for people of all ages and all races."-- Copley News Service "Probes the ordeal of the first blacks to cross over to the Americas."-- Children's Bookwatch " The First Passage is well-researched, well-written, and beautifully illustrated.

It is an excellent introduction to the history of African Americans."--Henry Louis Gates, Jr.