Don't be put off by the size, as I was, as this book sat on my shelf for ages! It is history at its best. Amazing research and detail covers the slave trade from its early origins with the Portugese - mostly to Lisbon in the first instance - to the 'heyday' of the trade and its abolition. There are stories aplenty here, and lots to make you think. It made me re-assess what I thought I already knew about the trade. Well worth a read!