The Zorg

A compelling, meticulously researched tale told with compassion and clarity, The Zorg reveals the horrors of the Atlantic slave trade and the humanity that led to its demise. * Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five and Story of a Murder *Siddharth Kara has uncovered a story of profound historical and moral importance. The Zorg shines a piercing light on one of the darkest chapters of human history, tracing the harrowing voyage that forced courts and society to confront the fundamental question of whether enslaved Africans were human beings or mere cargo. By unearthing new material and bringing it vividly to life, Kara reminds us that the fight for justice, dignity, and human rights is never won once and for all but must be defended in every generation. This is an essential and powerful book. * Cherie Blair CBE KC *Kara blends Grisham-esque thriller elements with the propulsive quality of David Grann’s The Wager and Sophie Elmhirst’s A Marriage at Sea; as a writer he is every bit their equal. There’s a buffet of savory anecdotes; cameos by Benjamin Franklin; Virginia Woolf’s great-grandfather; and the trader-turned-abolitionist composer of Amazing Grace… An epic in miniature, The Zorg is one of this year’s superlative nonfiction books. * Hamilton Cain, Minnesota Star Tribune *This remarkable, riveting book about a famous event of nearly two and a half centuries ago finds a raft of new information that generations of historians (myself included) have missed. And the episode involved was not just one more atrocity onboard a slave ship at sea; it was the spark that helped ignite the greatest human rights movement of all time. * Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold’s Ghost, Bury the Chains, and American Midnight *The history at the heart of The Zorg is urgent, unflinching, and utterly essential. Siddharth Kara brings overdue attention to stories that demand to be known. * Anthony Delaney, author of Queer Georgians *This enthralling and elegant history … is both a harrowing glimpse of slavery’s horrors and an incisive investigation into one of history’s most reviled crimes. * Publishers Weekly Starred Review *Mass murder aboard a slave transport, half-forgotten today but an iconic event…A vivid historical footnote, but also a milestone. * Kirkus Reviews *

Siddharth Kara is an author, researcher, and activist on modern slavery. Kara has written several books and reports on slavery and child labour, most recently the New York Times bestseller and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Cobalt Red. Kara also won the Frederick Douglass Book Prize. He has lectured at Harvard University and held a professorship at the University of Nottingham. He divides his time between Los Angeles and London.