“Routes of Remembrance sets a new benchmark for studies of the slave trade in African and African-American memory. In an insightful ethnography of a major site of diaspora tourism, Holsey reveals the complexity of Ghanaian silences concerning the slave trade, ‘routes’ these through a contested history of European and African-American narratives, and presents a fascinating account of how a new generation reworks this history to create a new diasporic vision.”

Rosalind Shaw, Tufts University

“I thoroughly enjoyed reading this fascinating book. Indeed, it is rare to find such a sensitive account of how people deal with painful memories of the past and the complex social forces that dictate the shape and form that those memories of the past take.”

Jennifer Cole, University of Chicago

"In this thoughtful contribution to discussions on memory, history, and identity, anthropologist Holsey examines the memorialization of the slave trade on both sides of the Atlantic. . . . A powerful entry into understanding African silences on the slave trade. The style is lucid and engaging."

Choice

"A complex and unsettling book about slavery that artfully combines historical and ethnographic scholarship. . . . This provocative and engaging book raises the larger question of the narratives black people the world over are telling about themselves."

Edward M. Bruner | Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute