Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave Market, by Walter Johnson: The author delves into historical slavery data (sales, court proceedings), exploring the narratives that underlie the records. Johnson shares the heart-breaking details of slave life; for example, slaves played down their physical strength while emphasizing mental process -- to increase the odds of working inside of the plantation (rather than in the fields). This title is prize winning and positively reviewed in numerous journals, inc. The Journal of American History and The American Historical Review.

A solid, relatively recent (2015) exploration of the subject of dark tourism. The title is recommended by Library Journal, Entertainment Weekly, and Academic Questions, among others.

A Bancroft Prize winner authored by Eugene D. Genovese, Roll, Jordan, Roll is recommended widely (e.g., Anderson, J. [2002]. "Aunt Jemima in Dialectics: Genovese on Slave Culture": Book Review Essay. The Journal of African American History, 87, 26-42. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/1562489).