cover image Black Rice: The African Origins of Rice Cultivation in the Americas,

Black Rice: The African Origins of Rice Cultivation in the Americas,

Judith Ann Carney. Harvard University Press, $45 (256pp) ISBN 978-0-674-00452-8

From Bondage to Freedom ""Among the longstanding themes in African-American history is the debate over cultural survival and acculturation,"" observes UCLA geography professor Judith A. Carney in the introduction to Black Rice: The African Origins of Rice Cultivation in the Americas. Contrary to common belief, she explains, rice was not brought by Europeans to the Americas by way of Asia, but rather was introduced here by Africans and cultivated by African-American slaves, particularly in South Carolina, where rice crops proved to be one of the most profitable plantation-based economies. Though this is a scholarly work, Carney's clear, uncluttered prose invites a wider readership. ( Apr. 23)