This books was one of those that slotted a lot of other information, previously heard but not placed into context, into place: CLICK. It's a powerful analysis of the emancipation process of three empires (France, UK, US), with supporting examples from other European colonial powers. And it so clearly shows that people in power can contort institutions and the law itself to keep them in power. I learned a lot of examples I'd never heard of, connected the dots of others I had, and learned about many individuals from various regions (Caribbean especially) key to the discourse on liberation from the 18th-early 20th centuries. Lots of bookmarks!