Not For Sale

De: David Batstone

Narrado por: Michael McIlhonnie

“Human trafficking is not an issue of the left or right, blue states or red states, but a great moral tragedy we can unite to stop . . . Not for Sale is a must-read to see how you can join the fight.” —Jim Wallis, author of God's Politics

“David Batstone is a heroic character.” —Bono

In the revised and updated version of this harrowing yet deeply inspirational exposé, award-winning journalist David Batstone gives the most up-to-date information available on the $31 billion human trafficking epidemic. With profiles of twenty-first century abolitionists like Thailand’s Kru Nam and Peru’s Lucy Borja, Batstone tells readers what they can do to stop the modern slave trade. Like Kevin Bales’ Disposable People and Ending Slavery, or E. Benjamin Skinner’s A Crime So Monstrous, Batstone’s Not for Sale is an informative and necessary manifesto for universal freedom.

©2007 David Batstone; (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

Informative and engaging.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The stories intertwined with the informative information made it so captivating and real.

Any additional comments?

This book is for the informed or uninformed on the subject of human trafficking. Hopefully, it will open your eyes and heart towards these boys and girls, men and women, like it did mine.

Up from Slavery

Just when you thought it was safe to come out of the house, David Batstone writes a much needed book titled "Not for Sale." In this book he exposes the current status of trafficking in women and children and slavery in contemporary society. He contends that about 27 million people around the world suffer from forced labor and sexual exploitation. Even if we don't accept these high figures, his book is still troubling and worthy of every thoughtful listener to Audible books.

About the first half of the book tells the stories of women and children trapped in forced labor. Those sections are a little repetitive, but the force of the situation is so important you will overlook this fact. The second half deals with similar issues as encountered in Latin America and under the Russian mofia. His accounts of victims and survivors will disturb the reader as they should.

I would recommend that two other books be read along with this particular title namely "Gomorrah" by Roberto Saviano and "The Accountant's Story" by Roberto Escobar. Both are available from Audible. The first deals with international criminal activity in Naples and the second the drug cartel. The crime trilogy pretty much introduces international crime to the reader. Of the three "Gomorrah" is the most exciting to read, "The Accountant's Story" is the most amazing to read and "Not for Sale" the most heart rending. "Gomorrah" touches on slave labor as defined by Batstone tangentially.

All are well written and read.

Poorly Written

The narration is good, the research seems good, but the writing is extremely poor. One example from 47:59: "The distribution of wealth is not being evenly distributed." (This sentence should of course read "Wealth is not evenly distributed) Gaffes of this sort heavily pepper the book, as do the sort of awkward phrasing and unprofessional style you'd expect from the average high school student term paper.