Critical Review

The review of Bury the Chains, done by Brookhiser, seems strongly accurate. The book is shown to be very anti-religion, and being prejudiced towards a group of people in a book striking down the mistreatment of a group of people seems hypocritical. I think at times it did indeed get in the way of the flow, as well, when he took any opportunity to bash a Christian. It made the tale come across as catty at points and Hochschild should have relied more upon his ability to establish striking imagery moreso then his bias against religion.

In the review of Bury the Chains by Robinson of the New York Times, the sentiment that Hochschild's method of inquiry seemed more indicative of a novel then a historical account is a point well taken. The way that he always presents the abolitionists as against all odds makes it feel more like he's trying to make it a page turner then give a true discussion to what really did cause the end of slavery in Great Britain. If the movement was so unlikely to succeed then, like Robinson says, it seems likely that other factors must have contributed to it that Hochschild does not delve deeply enough into.