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Marcus Rediker is Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh. His “histories from below,” including The Slave Ship: A Human History, have won numerous awards, including the George Washington Book Prize, and have been translated into seventeen languages worldwide. He has produced a film, Ghosts of Amistad, with director Tony Buba, and written a play, “The Return of Benjamin Lay,” with playwright Naomi Wallace. He is currently writing a book about escaping slavery by sea in antebellum America.

Books and Other Writings

 

Under the Banner of King Death book cover by Marcus Rediker

Under the Banner of King Death

Pirates of the Atlantic, A Graphic Novel

by David Lester and Marcus Rediker, with Paul Buhle. A tale of mutiny, bloody battle, and social revolution, Under the Banner of King Death novelizes for the first time the real pirates, an itinerant community of outsiders, behind our legends.
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Book cover of Prophet Against Slavery by Marcus Rediker

Prophet Against Slavery
Benjamin Lay, A Graphic Novel

by David Lester, Marcus Rediker, and Paul Buhle
The revolutionary life of an 18th-century dwarf activist who was among the first to fight against slavery and animal cruelty. An action-packed chronicle of the remarkable and radical Benjamin Lay.
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Book cover of A Global History of Runaways by Marcus Rediker

A Global History of Runaways
Workers, Mobility, and Capitalism, 1600–1850

ed. by Marcus Rediker, Titas Chakraborty, and Matthias van Rossum
During global capitalism's long ascent from 1600–1850, workers of all kinds—slaves, indentured servants, convicts, domestic workers, soldiers, and sailors—repeatedly ran away from their masters and bosses, with profound effects.
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Marcus Rediker @MarcusRediker ·
12 Oct 1845061066218144194

Thanks to Tariq Ali (@TariqAli_News) for sending me a pre-publication copy of his memoir, *You Can’t Please All: Memoirs, 1980-2024*, to be published November 5 by Verso. Tariq is one the best political commentators of our time. Be sure to pre-order here:
https://www.versobooks.com/products/2937-you-can-t-please-all

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David Graeber Institute @Graeber_social ·
11 Oct 1844847337958461521

On November 7th, we have a Zoom talk to discuss David Graeber's work.

The focus will be on David's essay, There Never Was A West. The historian @MarcusRediker will lead the talk.

If you want to join, you can register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqdO2spzsuGNTYltSL58dtIQF0RPqfLIOH

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Marcus Rediker @MarcusRediker ·
11 Oct 1844701242414477420

I did an interview with film-maker Christopher Cuthrell that resulted in this ten-minute video, "Benjamin Lay: The Radical Quaker Abolitionist Who Challenged the World" for @QuakerSpeak. I thought Christopher did an excellent job.

Twitter feed video.
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Marcus Rediker @MarcusRediker ·
10 Oct 1844354393497534723

On Nov. 7, at 6:30 pm, at the University of Hawai'i-Mānoa, I will be in conversation with the legal scholar-activist Charles R. Lawrence on the post-election theme, "Resistance to Tyrants: A Long History of Hope." Click on the link for more information.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/marcus-rediker-resistance-to-tyrants-tickets-1023006017537?aff=erellivmlt

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David Graeber Institute @Graeber_social ·
10 Oct 1844210534859800924

On November 7th, we host a Zoom discussion to talk about David Graeber's work & his essay “There Never Was a West.”

The historian and filmmaker, Marcus Rediker (@MarcusRediker) will lead the talk.

If you want to join, you can register at this link:

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Beacon Press @BeaconPressBks ·
9 Oct 1844008579776258546

🚨3 DAYS LEFT!🚨

@MarcusRediker, @LesterMecca & Paul Buhle join forces again for REVOLUTION BY FIRE, a graphic novel about NY’s Afro-Irish uprising of 1741. Enter our @goodreads #giveaway for a chance to win a copy!

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Marcus Rediker @MarcusRediker ·
8 Oct 1843660473767751728

Want a free copy of our latest graphic novel?@BeaconPressBks and @Goodreads are giving away 25 advance copies of *Revolution by Fire: New York's Afro-Irish Uprising of 1741, A Graphic Novel,* to be published Nov. 12. @LesterMecca Enter here: https://goodreads.com/giveaway/show/392220-revolution-by-fire-new-york-s-afro-irish-uprising-of-1741-a-graphic-nov

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Marcus Rediker @MarcusRediker ·
5 Oct 1842620900970992117

Please help the good people at @traficantes2010 to purchase the bookstore they operate in Madrid. I spoke there a couple of years ago -- it's a great place! @Traficantes_Ed

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Marcus Rediker @MarcusRediker ·
5 Oct 1842569631783084378

When your publisher (@BeaconPressBks) generously gives you a lot of copies of your new book .... On sale Nov. 12.
https://www.beacon.org/Revolution-by-Fire-P2111.aspx
@LesterMecca @gpatnaik1

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New Play, “The Return of Benjamin Lay”

"The Return of Benjamin Lay," a play by Marcus Rediker, promotional graphic"The Return of Benjamin Lay," a play by Marcus Rediker, promotional graphic

Written by Marcus Rediker and Naomi Wallace, world premiere at the Finborough Theatre, London, June 13–July 8, 2023

Featuring acclaimed American actor Mark Povinelli and directed by RSC Honorary Associate Director Ron Daniels, “The Return of Benjamin Lay” sweeps across the centuries in a bold exploration of an utterly impossible man.

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Ghosts of Amistad Film Website

Screen shot of the Ghosts of Amistad documentary website
Ghosts of Amistad Film now FREE
Full-length film online in English with subtitled versions in French, Italian and Spanish

Ghosts of Amistad chronicles a trip to Sierra Leone to visit the home villages of the people who seized the slave schooner Amistad in 1839, to interview elders about local memory of the case, and to search for the long-lost ruins of Lomboko, the slave trading factory where their cruel transatlantic voyage began. The documentary film’s new website includes numerous resources, including study guides, to support educators around this topic.

Visit Site Study Guides

Ghosts of Amistad award laurels