BLOOD AND EARTH

A new book from the Pulitzer-nominated author that argues and proves how environmental destruction is inextricably linked with the international scourge of slavery.

BLOOD AND EARTH is a gripping account of the deadly link between slavery and environmental destruction. Kevin Bales is a social scientist, human rights activist, and journalist -- and he's also one of the world's leading experts on modern slavery. In his work he began to notice the connection between environmental decline and slavery: the two almost always went hand-in-hand, whether in the hellish gold mines of Ghana or the miraculously beautiful mangrove forests of Bangladesh. But why?
He set off to find the answer on a fascinating and moving journey that took him into the lives of modern day slaves and along a supply chain that leads directly to the cell phones in our pockets. He found solutions that redeemed both the lives of the slaves in the world's most threatened places and the environments they live in. This is a clear-eyed, inspiring, and profoundly hopeful book that brings us dramatic stories from the world's environmental and human rights hotspots and offers solutions to our most pressing crises.

KBales’ gripping narrative takes readers around the globe with clarity, sympathy and urgency. We hear the stories of the people whose lives fall at the intersection of human trafficking and environmental destruction—and readers will never look at their cell phones, gold rings, or shrimp tacos the same way again.

Kevin Bales recently completed a year-long series on slavery with CNN and is the go-to person for issues of contemporary slavery. He is a co-founder and previously President of Free the Slaves, the US sister organization of Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest human rights organization.
He is the author of several books, most notably DISPOSABLE PEOPLE: New Slavery in the Global Economy (University of California Press, 1999; 2004; 2012), which was nominated or the Pulitzer Prize and was published in 10 languages. The Italian edition went on to win the Premio Viareggio. Bales was named as the originator of one of “100 World-Changing Discoveries” by the Association of British Universities and as a “visionary who is changing your world” by Utne Reader. A celebrated public speaker and educator, he was featured at the 2010 TED conference. Born in Oklahoma, he is currently based in Brighton, UK.