"A compelling and often tragic narrative of survival and adaptation. It makes it clear that the Atlantic slave trade was not only a part of a ''distant'' history of the United States, but that it also continued to shape our country long after it was officially abolished two centuries ago."--Lisa A. Lindsay, African Studies Review
"Diouf''s masterful storytelling, thorough research, and deft handling of the body of sometimes-conflicting sources bring the story to light and effectively set the record straight."--Journal of American History
"Provides readers with the opportunity to consider African culture, its survival even under slavery, its sense of community with roots in West Africa, and the difficulties of maintaining community in a segregated and increasingly Jim Crow South in the late 19th century. Highly recommended."--CHOICE
"A major contribution to pan-African and Black trans-Atlantic studies.... Dreams of Africa in Alabama reads as a novel, yet it is the product of rigorous research."--Sylvie Kande, QBR: The Black Book Review
"Diouf immerses the reader in the diversity and complexity of Africa.... The narrative is patient, disciplined, compelling, and brave, never shying away from the central role that Africans played in the enslavement of other Africans.... One puts down this compelling book convinced both of the significance of the Africans at the center of it, and that Diouf has given us a superb history."--Eric Love, Civil War Book Review
"A moving memorial to the indomitable spirit of a small group of Africans who managed to maintain their dignity and their humanity on an unfamiliar and often hostile shore."--Mobile Press Register