I LOVED this book! I started it on a whim and COULD NOT put it down! I was intrigued by the stories that was were masterfully woven together. Both the historical story of the Underground Railroad and the story of Operation Underground Railroad were told and although these stories involve tough and graphic situations, the author handled it well and only described enough to give the reader context. For this purpose, I would rate this PG-13 and suggest it to mature readers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain for making an advance readers copy available for an honest review.

High marks for the content. Low marks for the delivery mode.

I started reading this book as an e-book and found the format very frustrating and difficult to follow. Sentences would break mid-way for a portion of someone's letter and then resume with the main body of the text, again mid-sentence. Then, again mid-sentence, it would jump to a bit from a newspaper article. While the content was fascinating, it was so jolting that I may have given up.

I was saved by the published hard copy arriving on my desk. I noted that the inclusions here were set off in boxes and added greatly. Going back to the ebook, there were markings which indicated a break, but they were unclear and the breaks poorly placed. For this reason, I strongly advise going with the bound, physical copy of this title rather than the electronic version.

As for the content, the book itself - I have new heroes. While the stories of historic story of Harriet Jacobs and the current efforts of contemporary warriors fighting enslavement, particularly of children in sexual slavery, may seems only distantly related, the parallels are strong and both accounts will stay with me for life. This is a book that will make you look around and wonder about what you see around you. This is a book that will have you looking for ways to make a difference. There is so much that we take for granted and shouldn't. This book will make you aware.

I definitely recommend this book, in hard copy. (less)

flag
1 like · comment · see review

The author has a no frills approach to detailing the horrific global issue of slavery, past and present. As someone who doesn't usually read non-fiction, I wanted to read something to educate myself on the world. This book it's more than that, it's not just facts and figures, it was eye opening, inspiring and most of all shocking.

The author himself quit his job to start OUR (Operation Underground Railroad) to help victims of modern day slavery. He explains how a missing boy in Haiti set off a chain of events that led him to forming his organisation.

He talks about his inspiration from the stories of the figures during the Transatlantic Slave trade, from the original Underground Railroad. Despite learning about the Transatlantic slave trade in school, the individual stories that Tim described were inspiring as well as heart breaking.

The author draws parallels between modern day and Transatlantic slavery. What stood out to me is the fact that during the Transatlantic slave trade, most people from North America had never witnessed slavery, just as in the present day, most of us will never witness it. That doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

Tim also discusses some of his missions and his oragnisations amazing work and encourages us all to do something about modern day slavery even something as simple as talking about the shocking fact that unfortunately still exists today.

I received an ARC of Slave Stealers from Shadow Mountain, via NetGalley. My words and opinions are my own.

The practice of slavery has not been consigned to the past. Even though laws have been passed in many industrialized countries prohibiting it, it still exists. It isn’t just a term used by certain public figures as a perceived form of institutionalized racism. The word Slave is more than something the musician Prince wrote on his face due to a contract dispute. It’s real, and it’s happening now. And sadly, as a result of a demand for workers that don’t have to be paid or even treated well, human beings are trafficked around the world. They aren’t only trafficked for laborious work. They are often targeted for work in the sex industry. To make it even worse, if that isn’t bad enough, many of the victims are children.

Timothy Ballard is a former agent with the Department of Homeland Security. During his employment he saw things no one should ever have to see. While he was successful in dismantling dozens of trafficking rings, other undercover missions didn’t end as well as he’d hoped. He became the Founder and CEO of Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.). In Slave Stealers, he’s written of his background, how he founded O.U.R., who’s inspired him, and about the operation in Haiti that started it all.

Half of the book is focused on the story of Harriet Jacobs whose master preyed on her and other female slaves. When she stood up to his attempts to seduce her, he separated her from her children and she was forced into hiding for seven years. She eventually escaped to the northern part of the USA, and became an abolitionist and author. Plenty of excerpts from her book are included in the text. Ballard explains the differences between the old form of slavery that Jacobs endured and present day slavery, but reminds us that neither can be judged as worse than the other.

Ballard also includes lessons that he’s learned from both Jacobs and Abraham Lincoln. But he also has something to impart to us. As NFL coach Mike Tomlin says in his forward to the book, and Ballard reiterates, we must find unity during these divisive times. One way to do that is to focus on something non-political or religious, and has nothing to do with race, such as putting an end to the trafficking and modern day slavery of children. Surely we can agree that no child should be afflicted to any form of abuse, including sexual abuse.

I knew of domestic slavery, but considered it as something that happened elsewhere. I’ve become more aware of the situation since becoming a Trades of Hope Compassionate Entrepreneur last year. This fair trade business has developed links with organizations involved with victim aftercare and also with the general movement to put an end to slavery. This is why I was interested in reading Slave Stealers. I found it to be an incredibly powerful book, written in easy to understand language. If it doesn’t leave you with tears in your eyes (yes, my eyes did water), your heart might need examining. We have a problem in this world. It isn’t just in Haiti, but everywhere including the USA. Two O.U.R. operations took place in Washington in 2017, and another took place in that state less than a month before this book’s publication. It’s here, it’s in our neighborhoods, and it’s time to wake up and do something about it.

I received a download of an uncorrected proof of Slave Stealers from Shadow Mountain, via NetGalley. My words and opinions are my own.

While I don't often read nonfiction this book has a story to tell that all need to read. Sure I've heard of slavery back in the 1800's but this book is so much more than that. Author Timothy Ballard is a phenomenal man. He founded nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad to save children from sex slavery all over the world. He is a former Special Agent for the Department of Homeland Security who has seen the horrors and carnage of war. Told in riveting alternating chapters from the 1800's slavery to modern-day eyewitness account of Timothy Ballard. This was a hard book to read, details were not glossed over and you got the straight up truth of how things happened,the abuse,terror and trafficking that goes on in third world countries. It is common in Haiti and police turn a blind eye to it. This compassionate man relied on strength,empathy and courage to do his job. We have come a long way in our fight against sexual trafficking but have such a long way to go. Heart wrenching read ! Are we as society really making progress when things like this are still flourishing? I recommend if you are a history buff that you read this and educate yourself.
Pub Date 04 Sep 2018
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Shadow Mountain Publishing through Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book is FANTASTIC! Timothy Ballard has an interesting career with fascinating stories. I loved the intermingling of past and present as it made the book especially engaging.

Timothy Ballard, has a way of telling the reader about slave trafficking not just in the past, but about child trafficking in our day. Timothy Ballard founded Operation Underground Railroad, an operation that he has dedicated to help apprehend those people behind child trafficking. He shares stories of people in the past, who helped in the underground railroad around the time of the Civil war. He also shares stories of operations to stop child trafficking today.. This book opened my eyes to the horrific things happening all over the world, including the United States America.

This book is phenomenal. Timothy Ballard does an excellent job of telling the stories from the original Underground Railroad and connecting that with the work he is doing now with his nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad to save children from sex slavery all over the world. This book balances well the tragedy that child sex slavery is with the hope that OUR is bringing to those children's lives. I learned a lot about history and also my eyes were opened even more to the slavery that is sweeping our country. This book was amazing and Timothy's OUR is amazing. I plan on recommending this book to everyone I meet.

Thank you NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for an eARC.

I wanted to like it, but I just couldn't get into the style of writing that the author used.

I think it might be because I already knew a lot of the information about the historic Underground Railroad. I do find his work to be incredibly important, however, and think that any attention that can be shed upon the lives of people, children especially, affected by modern day slavery is a good thing.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I LOVED this book. It made me cry and smile.
Timothy Ballard has a way with words that makes this sensitive topic easily approachable. He discusses several key people of the original Underground Railroad and the impact they had on abolishing slavery, the bravery they showed in the face of danger and the courage they had to stick to their ideals no matter who was against them. Among them are; Harriet Jacobs (I had never heard of her but this book gave me a desire to read her autobiography.), Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman, and others.
He uses their life stories and brings them back to the modern day slavery we have right now, child exploitation and sex-slavery. He talks about his work with Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) and people he's worked with and children they've saved. He relies on the strength, compassion, empathy and courage that these historical slave stealers showed to do his job as a modern day slave stealer.
This is a touching real life look at the disgusting world that goes on around us that most of us are not aware of. I highly recommend this book for history buffs, those who want to find a good cause to support and anyone who needs a reminder of how far we've come as a society, but also how far we have to go.