Michael A. Gomez Livres

The book offers a comprehensive history of Bundu, a distinctive precolonial Muslim state in West Africa, known for its pragmatic approach amidst a backdrop of fundamentalist regimes. Situated strategically between the Saharan and trans-Atlantic trade routes, Bundu thrived on regional commerce and adapted swiftly to European trade influences. Utilizing diverse sources in multiple languages, Dr. Gomez explores the state's foundation, growth, and its interactions with Islamic thought and militant Islam during the early nineteenth century.

The book explores the complex dynamics of the transatlantic slave trade, highlighting how diverse African cultures converged in the American South. Michael Gomez meticulously examines the transformation of African identities as these individuals adapted to new circumstances, ultimately forging a unique African American identity. By establishing connections between African roots and the experiences of African Americans, the study provides a profound understanding of cultural exchange and identity formation in the face of adversity.

In a radically new account of the importance of early Africa in global history, Gomez traces how Islam's growth in West Africa, along with intensifying commerce that included slaves, resulted in a series of political experiments unique to the region, culminating in the rise of empire.

Beginning with antiquity, Reversing Sail: A History of the African Diaspora captures the essential political, cultural, social, and economic developments that shaped the black experience. The second edition updates the text of the previous edition to be current with the most recent research on the African Diaspora.

This book, first published in 2005, is a social history of the experiences of African Muslims and their descendants throughout the Americas, including the Caribbean. The record under slavery is examined, as is the post-slavery period into the twentieth century, looking at the emergence of Islam among the African-descended in the United States.