This is not my normal type of book but it was an important topic and one I wanted to know more about. I thought the writing was wonderful, informative and well balanced. It was a difficult topic to read about but the author handled it so well and I was able to learn a lot.

“The Zorg” is a non-fiction history detailing the murder by drowning of some 130 Africans caught up in the triangle slave trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Well-researched and finely written, it examines the profitability and growth of the trade during the 18th Century, the nations and some of the individuals involved, and the violence and privations inflicted upon the enslaved. It also relates the particular story of the ship Zorg and how the actions of its owners and crew resulted in court decisions that bolstered the nascent abolition movement in England and the U.S. and ultimately aided in the abolition of both the English slave trade and slavery.

The book does an excellent job of describing the mechanics of the slave trade: who benefitted, the risks involved, and the rewards that could be reaped. It amply demonstrates how the trade generated a labor force for American and Caribbean colonies and great economic benefits for many nations including England, France, Holland, Spain, and Portugal, as well as for various African tribes and kingdoms.

Author Siddharth Kara pulls no punches when it comes to describing the squalor and horrific mistreatment that slaves were made to endure from the time of capture to the end of the months-sometimes-year-long journey to western slave markets. Prisons, dungeons, slave pens, and the vastly overcrowded, filthy, suffocating ships’ holds—not to mention various instruments of physical torture—are depicted in gruesome detail, as are the events, miscalculations, incompetence, and possible conspiracy to defraud aboard the Zorg that led to the intentional drowning of some 130 slaves.

The final portion of the book recounts the trials of the lawsuits brought by the Zorg's’ owners against their insurers for recovery of the value of the slaves murdered. While the irony of the claim itself is stunning, Kara makes the case that those trials and the conditions they publicized contributed mightily to Parliament’s outlawing the slave trade in 1807 and to its abolition of slavery in 1833.

I can’t say that this was an enjoyable reading experience. The subject matter is just too grim for that. But it was an experience I found to be instructive and worthwhile. In other words, I thought I learned something. Kudos to Siddharth Kara for his decision to take up this task and for his commitment and scholarship in its execution.

My thanks to NetGalley, author Siddharth Kara, and publisher St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a complimentary electronic ARC. All of the foregoing is my honest, independent opinion

People. We are talking about people.

Siddharth Kara's The Zorg is so affecting because he does the opposite of what you expect. He tells the story of the infamous slave ship using an ingenious style — understatement. (Note: Yes I used an em dash. No, I am not AI.) For the vast majority of the book, I found myself consistently reading what seemed like a rather straightforward business explanation only to pull back and remind myself that we are talking about humans. I suspect it is what Kara was going for. The "leaders" (and I mean that in the most insulting way it can be taken) of the Zorg thought of the people jammed into their holds only as cargo to be sold at the next slave port. Kara uses this lens to make it so that the reader can be even more disgusted by what is happening in the pages because the villains (which is a much better descriptor) are so blase about the pain and death of their fellow humans.

I am intentionally obfuscating what happens on the Zorg. I remembered the main points of the story before I started the book, and I truly think it is best to go in without foreknowledge if possible. To be clear though, none of it is good. Along the way, you will meet slaves, one of the worst co-workers of all time, and a stupid doctor. The story of the Zorg would light the match that became the flame of abolition in England, but a price would need to be paid first. Along the way, there are so many coincidences and near misses which would seem beyond belief if they weren't all exquisitely documented.

Kara tells this story economically. It is slim in comparison to what this book could have been. This is an observation, not a criticism. I can easily hand this book to anyone, even non-history nerds, and tell them it is an easy read from a prose perspective. From a subject matter perspective, however....damn. For those who brave the heartbreaking and soul-crushing aspects of the book, you are rewarded at the end with what can be considered a triumphant ending. It is certainly one of my books of the year.

(This book was provided as an advance reader copy by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.)

As someone in insurance, of all the books out there, of course I would unknowingly pick a book about an insurance claim that set wheels in motion to change the world!

Overall, I thought this book was great in a horrifying type of way. It's a bit hard to follow the history of the slave trading companies and everyone involved at the beginning of the book, but it became easier to follow once the story of the Zorg got underway.

The background wasn't a total waste on me though. It was pretty laughable to read about plantation owners complaining about one of the slave trading companies with a monopoly charging "excessive rates" and how it was "crippl[ing] the plantations in a grievous manner". Cry me a river that you had to pay a high up front cost to purchase a human being to otherwise give you free labor that you would profit tremendously from. A human being that you would also likely get generational free labor from if they have children that you kept on as slaves. No sympathy here.

It was also interesting to hear the origins of the term "log book" literally coming from the use of a log on a ship as a measuring device. I would never have guessed.

Hearing about the things that happened on this ship, and the fact that the story likely would have been lost to history if not for the filing of a disputed insurance claim, is chilling. How many other times did something like this happen that we don't know about? No matter how much I learn about the slave trade, I will certainly never understand it.

Although this ship was particularly horrifying, at least it helped abolitionists use it as an example to bring others to their side and eventually take steps to end the entire practice.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Zorg is an incredibly well-researched account of what triggered the abolition of slavery. This author, Siddharth Kara, has put in an astounding amount of effort to create a historical record of what happened on the slave ship Zorg in the latter half of the 1700s that eventually led to the end of slavery in Europe and the Americas. Filling in the blanks of what happened so long ago necessitates speculation where written records have been lost, deliberately destroyed, or never created. Still, Professor Kara makes every effort to discover the truth behind the actions of the perpetrators and their motives and of those who fought to end the utter horror of the slave experience. Kara demonstrates that a few people coming together can initiate a movement that, with faith and persistence, can transform society.

While not normally a history reader, my neighborhood book club had a new member choose a book with scarce copies, “Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery” by Eric Metaxas. We managed (and also passed around a copy of the DVD). Our discussion included the frustration that it took so long for the abolitionists to convince British society to fully outlaw slavery. In the US, it took even longer and decades after American outlawed slavery, Southern slavers were still secretly smuggling slaves (check out the story and documentary of “The Clotilda”).

“The Zorg” is part of a further discussion, too, since as a Dutch ship, the fact that the crew murdered 137 women and children when supplies dwindled, might have escaped scrutiny if not for the audacity of the ship’s owners to file an insurance claim in England for the loss of the slaves (as if they weren’t responsible for throwing these innocents overboard). This was the incident that finally inflamed the nascent abolitionist moment and had far reaching consequences in both Britain and the US.

It’s a fascinating part of history (that, unfortunately, is still being repressed) and once you read this, it’s likely you’ll want to research more about the abolition movement. 4 stars !

Thank you to St.Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

This book provides an in-depth look at the horrors of the slave trade and the industries that thrived on it. By including these details that are often overlooked in historical accounts, it makes the story of the Zorg even more impactful.

The Zorg is a devastating, meticulously researched exposé that shook me to my core. Siddharth Kara pulls back the curtain on the hidden world of forced labor in cobalt mining, revealing the staggering human cost behind the tech powering our modern lives. This isn’t just a book—it’s a wake-up call.

Kara’s investigative work is fearless. He doesn’t just report from a distance—he embeds himself, listens, documents, and refuses to let the reader look away. The accounts he shares are harrowing, intimate, and enraging. Every page confronts you with the reality that behind our smartphones, electric cars, and clean energy ambitions are human lives being crushed in the name of profit.

What sets The Zorg apart is not only Kara’s journalistic rigor, but his ability to center the voices of those most affected. The storytelling is clear, compelling, and compassionate. He never sensationalizes. Instead, he lays out the facts with precision and humanity, making the stakes impossible to ignore.

This book changed how I think about supply chains, corporate responsibility, and the true cost of convenience. If you care about ethics, justice, or the future of global labor, The Zorg is required reading. It’s powerful, necessary, and deeply uncomfortable—in all the ways it needs to be.

3.75 stars
The title says it all... greed, murder and a history of slavery. I was impressed by the depth of research that went into this book. There were several layers of focus that included the economic competition and wars between some of the European nations that led to and perpetuated slavery, the ins and outs of the slave trade business, the story of The Zorg itself and the events leading to the abolition of slavery in England.

The historical details were impressive and provided an in-depth picture of what was going on at this time in history. I did find the level of detail a bit too much at times, which stalled the narrative. My favorite parts were The Zorg and learning about the slave trading business and the awful conditions the African people were exposed to once captured.

I absolutely recommend to readers who enjoy nonfiction. However, if you're more interested in naval history, just know that the Zorg is only about a third of the story.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot wait to read more from this author. Kara conveyed the horrors of slavery, the middle passage and the events on the Zorg without being unnecessarily graphic - there's no way to write about enslavement with being graphic. This book is a must read for anyone that wants to understand more about Englands involvement in the Atlantic slave trade and the legal battle to end it. Kara's writing is more targeted to readers that have at least a working background on the Atlantic slave trade and not those just starting their exploration of this topic, as there were some areas where the background information was a bit sparse or non-existent. Overall, great book!

This book is an interesting history of the Atlantic slave trade with particular in-depth focus on the infamous British (originally Dutch) slave ship Zorg (a.k.a Zong). The slave trade is a grim subject and the Zorg story particularly painful, but remembering the history is one way to honor its victims.

Of particular interest were the numerous instances in this story where it may never have been exposed to public attention except for a chance action: an observer in the court room writes an anonymous letter to the paper which happened to be noticed and brought to the attention of the correct person.

The two chapters devoted to the appeal hearing were fascinating in that the many eloquent oral arguments had little effect except for the fact about the rain.

Of particular interest in this book is the Epilog in which the author does some detective sleuthing and determines the identity of the person who wrote the anonymous letter. I was impressed with the amount of detail that could be retrieved from happenings so long ago, but the fact that it’s a story involving a combination of financial records and trial transcripts meant that records were recorded and saved.

The Zorg is a thorough and well written book about a part of our history that isn't talked about enough. This book was factually accurate and incorporated several primary sources without reading like a dry textbook. Kara does not shy away from the horrors experienced by the slaves as they crossed the Atlantic. This book would be an excellent resource for those wanting to learn more about the Atlantic slave trade.

I knew going into Siddarth Kara’s The Zorg that I was going to be reading about some of the worst things humans can do to each other. But even being prepared for that and the paltry and increasingly creative justifications for it, I still found myself shocked and sickened by the accounts of this book. This is a non-fiction book so I don’t consider it possible to have spoilers, but if you want to read this book without knowing more high level details, you should probably not read the rest of this review.

The journey of the Zorg took place during the Revolutionary War. No part of its journey took place along the shores or in a port of the nascent United States of America. And yet that war played a huge role in how events with the ship played out. The ship began its life as a Dutch ship, and was captured by the English off the coast of Africa because the two countries were at war against each other because of see above.

An experienced slaver assigned the surgeon of his to captaincy of it, despite Luke Collingsworth having no navigating or previous experiences captaining a ship. Collingsworth then packed the ship with twice the number of slaves a ship would normally take on, and brought on as a passenger, Roger Stubbs, who had been expelled from Africa managing the sale of slaves to the slavers (he left his teenage son behind).

After a stopover to load up on supplies before crossing the Atlantic, things started going badly for the white men too. Limited in crew with navigational skills, a storm blew them off course. Lack of attention to supplies led to them running low on citrus and developing scurvy. Collingsworth took ill and put Stubbs in charge instead of the first mate, who was confined to his quarters.

In a non-comedy of errors they realized their potable water was starting to run low, and instead of stopping when they sighted land (because of a lack of navigation and the fact that the islands could be claimed by one of the other countries at war with them) they kept going, trying to reach their intended destination of Jamaica, which turned out to be one of the islands they passed.

Their solution to making sure the white men had enough water while bumbling around the Caribbean was to throw living slaves off the ship, who of course didn’t know how to swim and in the case of the men, were chained to another man when thrown overboard. This is my first “are you absolutely kidding me moment”. These animals tossed living human beings overboard whose only sin was needing food and water, to drown or be eaten by sharks.

The second moment came when after the ship finally docked in Jamaica that the owner of the ship filed an insurance claim to be reimbursed for the loss of “cargo” that was tossed overboard to conserve water that they still had plenty of. Make note that all the women, children and sick men were thrown overboard first, and were going to fetch less of a price at market.

There’s nothing like asking to get reimbursed for murdering people.

The petition for insurance payout back in England caught the eye of a free man and abolitionists, who began the heightened but slow battle to have slavery declared illegal in English lands. Spoiler alert, they eventually won their battle, but full freedom for all slaves happened half a century after the journey of the Zorg, and not that long before things came to a head in America, resulting in the Civil War.

Kara does a fantastic job of making something very difficult to read due to the nature of its content still very readable, and while taking some liberties in presuming day to day details, relies as heavily as possible on the limited resources available to provide the most factual accounting of the ship (including its actual name), the events that occurred on it, and the events that occurred afterwards as a result. You shouldn’t enjoy this book but you should read it to fill in the gaps of the history we’ve been told.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A deep dive into the details of a confluence of poor management, greed, and murder that led to a disaster, which in turn triggered the work toward the abolition of slavery. Heavily researched with interesting detail, this book shares the court drama that turned the largely sleepy and evangelical movement in England into a moral campaign that spread to the US.

Sobering glimpse into the ugly realities of the Atlantic Ocean slave trade. The impressive amount of research Kara conducted provides reassurance of the validity of the tragic chain of events involving the Zorg. The avarice of the slave traders -- European, American, and African -- is laid bare. The suffering as well as fortitude of the enslaved people is on full display. The Zorg is an emotionally challenging look at how and why slave-holding nations became wealthy.

Extremely well researched book that was a very compelling read. It was filled with so much detail that must've taken forever to research and put together. I thought the first 2/3 of the book was a faster read, but in the end it all came together into a very cohisvie narative. The descriptions of the ports in Africa, the Zorg etc made it really easy to imagine the conditons that they sufferred through. I'm very glad that I was able to read this book about a subject that I haven't really thought or read about in decades.

The Zorg is every bit as terrifying and emotionally exhausting as you might expect. What surprised me most was the book’s unflinching depiction of the wide range of socioeconomic groups conscripted into the slave trade. While their experiences were nowhere near as horrific as those of the enslaved humans treated worse than livestock, the book makes it clear that many others also had little choice or ability to object, caught in a system that offered few avenues for escape or resistance.

The narrative structure, which jumps back and forth in time, is at times confusing and can feel whiplash-inducing. The build-up to “the fateful day” is so heavily foreshadowed and drawn out that, by the time the event is finally described, it feels a bit repetitive and loses some of its impact.

I appreciated the book’s theoretical explorations of daily life and personal experience. The experiences of the routine drudgery and conditions faced by sailors, slave traders, imprisoned slaves, and even the ship captains and their families left on land were interesting to explore. These perspectives add depth and nuance, making the historical realities feel immediate and personal.

The Zorg is a heart-wrenching and visceral but worthwhile read, offering a complex portrait of a brutal system and the people trapped within it.

From Pulitzer finalist and New York Times bestselling author, The Zorg by Siddharth Kara, A notorious slave ship incident that led to the abolition of slavery in the UK and sparked the US abolitionist movement. A piece of history that I had never heard about before and begs to be read.

This book explores the dark history of The Zorg, a slave ship commandeered by the British who chose to throw over 50 people overboard. The press the insurance claim generated from the situation helped lead to the abolition of slavery. As with anything dealing with the history of slavery, this was a heavy, tragic read. The author did a great job of showing what happened and why and the injustice of it all. I'd never heard of The Zorg before reading this, and I'm glad to see someone cared enough to research victims and tell their stories.

This is one of those books that sits heavy in your chest. The Zorg takes a real 18th-century tragedy—a Dutch slave ship commandeered by the British that chose, when rations got low, to throw more than fifty enslaved people overboard—and peels back the layers. Not just what happened, but why, and who benefited, and who disappeared in the retelling.

Siddharth Kara doesn’t write like a detached historian. He writes like someone grieving, someone furious. The care he puts into trying to recover the names and stories of people like Sia and Kojo hit me hard. He’s not trying to make it palatable. He’s not writing for a white comfort zone. The violence isn’t just physical—it’s legal, economic, ideological. And he draws those threads so clearly it’s impossible to look away.

I was struck by how much of this book is about how stories are buried. The crew got to tell their version. The courts debated “lost cargo” like the murdered were boxes of goods. And Kara shows exactly how that logic didn’t just survive—it shaped the foundation of modern capitalism. That’s part of what makes this more than just a historical account. It’s a reckoning.

That said, there were moments where the momentum slowed—mostly when the narrative zoomed way out to track broader legal impacts. I missed the close, intimate focus of the early chapters then. But even in those wider angles, Kara’s voice doesn’t lose urgency. He keeps pulling the reader back to the people at the heart of it all—the ones the system tried to erase.

This isn’t a “both sides” book. It’s a call to remember, and to refuse the lies that history tries to smooth over. It’s about justice, but not the courtroom kind. The kind that starts by naming the dead.