In 1831 enslaved Jamaicans revolted. What began as a peaceful movement soon became a bloodbath as British troops retaliated. Tom Zoellner tells the inspiring story of the uprising that galvanized antislavery forces in Britain and led directly to abolition two years later. (Harvard University Press)

Tom Zoellner is the author of eight nonfiction books, including Island on Fire: The Revolt that Ended Slavery in the British Empire, and works as a professor at Chapman University and Dartmouth College. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Harper’s, The American Scholar, The Oxford American, Time, Foreign Policy, Men’s Health, Slate, Scientific American, Audubon, Sierra, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Texas Observer, Departures, The American Scholar, The Wall Street Journal and many other publications. Tom is a fifth-generation Arizonan and a former staff writer for The Arizona Republic and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is the recipient of fellowships and residencies from The Lannan Foundation, the Corporation of Yaddo, the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation.

Caleb McDaniel is an Associate Professor of History at Rice University, where he also serves as magister of Duncan College. He is the author of Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America, and The Problem of Democracy in the Age of Slavery. In addition to numerous academic articles about the history of slavery, antislavery, and emancipation in the nineteenth century, he's also written essays that have appeared in the New York Times, Smithsonian, The Atlantic, and TIME.

Tom Zoellner discusses "Island on Fire" with Caleb McDaniel