Description

Unflinching and revealing, Black and British is a vital history that reveals how black British lives have been woven into the fabric of the nation for centuries – from Roman Britain to the Black Lives Matter protests.

‘Groundbreaking’ – The Observer
‘A radical reappraisal’ – The Guardian
‘Written with great force and passion’ – The Sunday Times

Drawing on new research, original records and expert testimony, David Olusoga’s Black and British shows us exactly why black history is not a separate or marginalized story, but an integral part of Britain’s cultural and economic life.

Stretching back as far as Roman Britain, the medieval imagination, Elizabethan ‘blackamoors’ and the global slave-trading empire, it shows that the great industrial boom of the nineteenth century was built on American slavery, and that black Britons fought at Trafalgar and in the trenches of both World Wars.

Now fully revised and updated to include the Windrush scandal and the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a history that reveals how the lives of black and white Britons have been entwined for centuries – a history that belongs to us all.

Publisher Review

You could not ask for a more judicious, comprehensive and highly readable survey of a part of British history that has been so long overlooked or denied. David Olusoga, in keeping with the high standards of his earlier books, is a superb guide. -- Adam Hochschild Groundbreaking. * Observer * [A] comprehensive and important history of black Britain . . . Written with a wonderful clarity of style and with great force and passion. It is thoroughly researched and there are many interesting anecdotes. -- Kwasi Kwarteng * The Sunday Times * A radical reappraisal of the parameters of history, exposing lacunae in the nation's version of its past. -- Arifa Akbar * Guardian * A thrilling tale of excavation -- Colin Grant * Guardian * [Olusoga] has discovered new and exciting research materials . . . Such sources give his writing freshness, originality and compassion . . . [Black and British] will inspire and will come to be seen as a major effort to address one of the greatest silences in British historiography -- David Dabydeen * New Statesman * Lucid and accessible. * Herald Scotland * Olusoga's account challenges narrow visions of Britain's past. By tracing the triangulated connections between Britain, America and Africa, he presents black British history in global terms [...] His subjects, even those who barely figure in the historical record, appear as individuals who matter, both in their own right and as historical exemplars. * The London Review of Books * An insightful, inclusive history of black people in Britain . . . Rich in detail and packed with strong personalities, this is an important contribution to our understanding of life in the UK. * History Revealed * An insightful, inclusive history of black people in Britain which is rich in detail and packed with strong, interesting characters. -- Stephanie Yeboah * GQ * Ambitious . . . Long overdue -- Hakim Adi * Spectator * Olusoga has single-handedly over recent years forced our forgotten history on the agenda . . . Written with an urgency it is a thrilling and engaging read. * Nigerian Watch * An erudite exploration of racism and how it continues to mutate . . . it is exhilarating to read a fine mind at work. -- Cathy Rentzenbrink * Guardian *