Jared Ross Hardesty is Professor of History, Western Washington University.

"The writings of Johan Gabriel Stedman offer a fascinating, uncensored view of an eighteenth-century plantation society. They expose the brutality of slavery on almost every page. Framed by an excellent introduction and superbly annotated, Jared Hardesty’s edition of Stedman’s work is a must-read for scholars of slavery and the colonial Americas. Moreover, as an eyewitness account it is ideally suited for use in the classroom." -- Willem Klooster, Clark University

"Stedman’s brutal involvement in the suppression of the African Maroons of Dutch Suriname is well known. Now Hardesty makes accessible an annotated version of the diary in which Stedman first recorded his daily exploits. Through a comparison of relevant portions of the diary with what was later published, Hardesty shows that Stedman lived an even more brutal and debauched life than he later revealed publicly." -- Paul E. Lovejoy, York University