The main cause of the Wall Street Essay Example for Free

The main cause of the Wall Street Essay I do not agree wholly with that statement. The panic selling of shares was the immediate cause to the Wall Street crash. However, if there had not have been the panic selling of shares then there would not have been such a dramatic slump but a smaller one. America was doing well in the end of the 1920s; the boom had made half the population happy. However, now that all the people who could afford it had brought electrical goods, cars etc there was no one else left to buy the surplus products. This is called overproduction, this means that there are too many products and the market is saturated, this usually starts off a slump. The companies were then starting to do not as well, this meant a fall in the share prices. The people in the know at the time had sold their shares and then all the other people who had invested in them panicked to sell their own shares causing the Wall Street crash. In the 1920s the wealth had not been evenly split, blacks, immigrants and farmers were not doing as well, this meant that half the population could not afford to buy the new products being mass-produced causing overproduction to happen quicker, if the wealth had been evenly spread then I do still think that there would have been a crash, however, it would have been a few years later. To increase the boom in the 1920s America put taxes on products coming in from abroad to make it a stronger economic country. The countries in Europe then retaliated and put a tax on all American goods. This meant that there were a lot of extra products not being sold; this was a part of overproduction. In the stock market a lot of speculators were playing with borrowed money from the bank because they felt that they were confident enough to win it back. Speculators were people who knew nothing about stocks but saw that a company was making profit in shares so they would invest in them if they were confident enough. This meant that companys products were worth a lot more in stock than they were in real life. This meant that at the time of the crash there was a hell of a long way to go down causing many people to go bankrupt. Because of overproduction many experts in the know decided to sell their shares, other people who owned shares in the same company then started to panic and quickly tried to sell there shares causing the prices of the company to plummet. The panic selling of shares technically was the Wall Street crash. I do not think that the panic selling of shares was the main cause for the Wall Street crash; I think that it was overproduction. Overproduction was always going to happen, it could have been postponed a few years if the wealth in America had been spread evenly or if Europe hadnt put a tax on all American goods. Even if this had been the case overproduction would have happened sooner or later. Overproduction caused some people to sell their shares that then lead to everyone panicking to sell their shares causing the Wall Street crash. If speculators had not have put in so much money there would not have been such a big slump but there would have been one. The panic selling of the shares was the last thing to happen and probably the most influential thing to happen before the crash. However, the thing that started the crash off was overproduction.

Six Month Accountancy Internship Personal Development Essay

Six Month Accountancy Internship Personal Development Essay The merger of PwC Lybrand in 1998 formed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the big four firms in Singapore and worldwide (Wikipedia, 2010). Boosting a revenue of US$2,935 million in the Asia region for financial year 2010 (PricewaterhouseCoopers Global, 2010), PwCs principal activities include assurance, advisory and tax services, for its clients, in accordance with the latest generally accepted accounting principles. I am attached to assurance Operating Unit 5 (OU5), where in 2010, the department has achieved the following performance: Diagram 1: Assurance OU5 Financial Report (Year ended June 30) Performance Indicators July 2010 August 2010 Revenue $1,083,000 $949,000 Headcount 98 90 Billable hours per month 12,158 9,868 Billable hours Year- to-date 12,158 22,026 Vision What guides the organisation and its people lies in the vision, which is to be a leader in rendering professional services, strategically solving problems for its clients, in order to enhance the values for the firm and its clients. Furthermore, the firm aspire to be a hub to attract, train and retain talents from all over the world, where as many as 163,000 competent and innovative staff in 151 countries play an important role in the creation and moulding of the PwC experience. Diagram 2: PwC Experience As seen in the PwC Experiences flowchart above, the firm emphasises on the building the values of individuals and relationships within the staff and with their clients by understanding their needs and connecting with them. They also launched a new identity (logo) on 17 September 2010, which represents a continuing and paramount desire to create values, achieving goals and building great relationships for its people and its clients (PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore, 2010). Organisation Chart The organisation chart of PwC Singapore is attached in appendix A. In an engagement team, the organisation structure would be similar to the diagram below: Diagram 3: Organisation Structure of an Engagement Team Culture The culture of the firm also helped in shaping the overall experience. The firm has an open door policy, which I found comfortable approaching my seniors and managers at any time. In PwC, the staff will be assigned to a career coach and buddy, whose responsibility includes guiding and advising their juniors in making choices or simply, to be a listening ear in times of needs. Besides just work, PwC also focus on work-life balance. Activities such as community services and Certified Public Accountants (CPA) games are organised to provide opportunities for networking with some professionals in the industry and also to promote work-life balance. Roles and Contributions Diagram 4: Simplified flowchart of work flow General At the start of the attachment, I was tasked with simple tasks such as call-over and casting of figures in the financial statements. Though these tasks may seem trivial to some, they were essential to ensure the accuracy of the figures shown in the financial statements, and for the call-over, to ensure that the two copies were similar and the changes that were previously noted, were reflected in the latest copy. Planning During the planning for an engagement, I mapped and imported the trial balance provided by the client into the database system so that the team members would be able to extract figures for the sections that they are responsible for. For the walkthrough, I enquired the clients on their system and noted down for example, how a sale transaction would be processed from the start to the end point. Furthermore, I arranged with the corporate secretary to carry out statutory review. Statutory review is carried out twice for an engagement. The first session would be during the planning stage, where the purpose would be to gain an understanding of the changes in key management personnel and the resolutions passed from the end of the last engagement till current year. The second session would be carried out after financial year end, and this would help the auditors to find out whether any subsequent events such as acquisition of a business unit that would affect the audited figures. Fieldwork After planning, the team would proceed to the clients place to carry out fieldwork. For the accounts receivable section, I performed accounts receivable ageing test, by vouching the major debtors invoices and re-performed the accounts receivable ageing. I took the number of days between the invoice date and year end date, and minus away the credit terms for each individual debtor, to find out the number of aged days. After which, I classified these into ageing bands of intervals of 90, that is, 1 to 90 days, 91 to 180 etc and compared the end results with clients classification. This step was done to test the reliability of the accounts receivable ageing analysis report provided by the client and this would support the substantive analytical review and other substantive analytical testing that were being performed on accounts receivable. For the accounts payable section, I performed the test for unrecorded liabilities to assess if there was any understatement of liabilities, by vouching to the paid invoices after year end to determine if they are current obligations and whether they have been recorded in the current financial year. I also traced to the unpaid invoices after year end to ensure that they have been accounted for in the current year. If the liabilities have not been accounted for in the books, liabilities would be understated. For the fixed asset section, I performed reasonableness test on the depreciation charges, to ensure that depreciation, a form of accounting estimates has been provided accurately. Using the fixed asset cost at the beginning of financial year, I removed the fully depreciated and disposed assets and provided partial depreciation for the new additions during the year. After which, I compared the end results with the clients amounts. If depreciation charges have been underprovided, it would result in overstatement of the fixed assets balance. Follow-up Session After the end of the fieldwork, we will have a follow-up session, to clear outstanding matters such as documents and queries not obtained during fieldwork or to do subsequent reviews after the previous session. I performed accounts recoverability testing by vouching for subsequent receipts after year end. If there were non-recoverable amounts above the pre-set planning materiality, the team would need to discuss with the management to provide for provision. Audit Instructions and Agreed Upon Procedures In addition, I assisted to draft the audit instructions and agreed upon procedures for other PwC firms overseas. PwC firms in the CATSH (China, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong) regions adopt the same audit methodology. This was because our client was incorporated in Singapore, but their accounting records were kept in overseas. Therefore, taking into consideration the time and cost factors, we would request the PwC firm in the country where the records were kept to carry out the audit for us and to sign an inter-office opinion. Learning Experiences and Achievements Communication Skills One of the most important lessons I have learnt so far is communication skills. In school, we were so used to communicating with our peers and teachers casually. We do not need to prepare beforehand and could speak from our minds. However, from this internship, I came to understand that the way you talk and your message affects the communication with other people. When we are out for engagements, we need to communicate and negotiate among the team, such as on meeting time and venue, delegation of workloads and to clarify instructions. Nevertheless, in my opinion, the most difficult form of communication lies with the client. Every new engagement brings along a whole new team to work together for the client. We have to be selectively and be aware of how and what we enquire the client on. This is especially important as we are not in the clients place most of the times, therefore, we rely on the information that the client provides us with. Also, there might be miscommunication if the client misunderstood our queries. I was assigned to test the controls for payment of expenses. I vouched to the physical suppliers invoices, corresponding payment vouchers and recorded the payment voucher number and telegraphic transfer number. I found out that the payment voucher was not in the usual 6 digits format starting number 6 and it was in the telegraphic transfer format i.e. TT OCBC SG 123456. Being very confused with the arrangements, I approached the Finance Manager, to clarify my doubts. I remembered using the words sequential order and TT number is different in my questions. The client immediately rebutted me, You mean our payment vouchers are not in sequential order? Fortunately, my team in-charge helped me out by clarifying my questions with the client. My original intention was to enquire the use of TT transfer number that is different from the banks reference and to find out the basis on using such formats. After some clarifications, the client explained the change in the use of the formats from Jun e 2010 onwards, a new format for the recording of the payment voucher number, in the way familiar to them. For example, TOS 11 10 07 01 stands for TT OCBC Bank in SGD and where 11 is the currency code for SGD, 10 being year 2010, 07 being the month and 01 being the sequential numbering of the payment voucher. GIRO payment would have the format starting with 65 and payment by cheque will have the numbering starting with 84. From this incident, I have learnt to be tactical with my words and not mention words that might imply that the client was in the wrong. Firstly, we should request the client to walkthrough with us on the system. When they are done with the explanations, we could enquire on the deviations from the general procedures that they have briefed us on previously. I would also write down all the questions that I need to ask on a piece of paper, so as to avoid approaching the client frequently. Building relationships Relationship-building is paramount in the line of assurance, because we are not desk-bound jobs and require frequent travelling. I heard that most clients do not like auditors and we would often be scolded by them. However, I would think otherwise. I felt that it all boils down to how we manage our relationship with our peers, colleagues and clients. I really enjoyed the relationships that I shared with my first engagements client. Before the official working hours, I loved to join their staff at the pantry to chat and also shared with them my working experiences so far. The times that we have laughed were definitely fond memories. My seniors warned me that the Finance Manager was a fierce person who was unwilling to help. However, I realised that after much interactions with him, he would guide and joke with me. Even now, when I called back to follow-up, the staff recognised my voice and sent me the outstanding documents within a short time. I never felt uneasy been recognised as a student. The relationship that I maintained with my seniors was also more like a friend. We would play hard and work hard at the same time. These have definitely taught me not sacrifice work for time used for building of relationships. The close relationships that you have forged so far would be beneficial to you in the future. In school, many of us have Innovation and Enterprise (I E) events in year 3 for our Interdisciplinary Studies (IS) modules. Many of these events require the support of our friends, whether financial or in participation. If we have cherished the relationships with our friends, many of them would be willing to support our events. No one is alone. Therefore, it is important to meet new people, put in efforts in maintaining these relationships and these people could possibly help us even after our studies or internship. Being Proactive and Taking Ownership Being proactive in my attitude and be responsible for the tasks assigned to me was another learning experience for me. I am a slow learner and I should not allow this to affect the progress of the engagement team. As such, I read the prior years financial statements and checked with my team in-charge at least a few days before the engagement if there is anything that I could be help of and to discuss on my job scopes. These efforts paid off when I realised that I was able to relate what I have read in the prior years files to current years audit, as we would normally expect the trend to continue. In addition, going through the walkthrough performed by my seniors has allowed me to know the key management personnel that I may need to approach during fieldwork and to familiarise with the filling system, so as to expedite the vouching process. I believe that taking ownership of the tasks assigned is important. It is being responsible for yourself and others. When someone handles me a task, I would complete it as soon as possible, or if I am busy, I would ask the other interns to assist. This is because the other party have put their trust in you to help them to complete these tasks. If we are not responsible, our seniors would not want to entrust us with tasks and we would miss these opportunities for learning. Similar to the learning experiences in school, when we are assigned projects by our lecturers, we should always put in efforts, and not grumble and submitting substandard work, because the projects are designed to enable us to have a hands-on approach on the concepts learnt in lessons, and to encourage us to do research and explore beyond the lecture notes. Independence During this internship, I became less reliant on my seniors. For my first engagement, there were only 4 people in the team, including myself. My team in-charge resigned before the end of the engagement and both my seniors took annual leave and study leave, leaving myself to do the follow-up for that engagement. My manager was too busy to guide me. In the end, I was sent to do follow-up at the clients place alone for two days. As I was tasked to do only vouching for certain sections during fieldwork , I do not have a good understanding of the clients business and operations, as compared to my seniors and team in-charge who have handled the different sections and have liaised directly with the clients finance manager and director before. I felt nervous, lost and I tried very hard to remember what my seniors and manager had told me. I started on my work and reported to my manager once every few hours, to update her on my progress and obtain feedback from her on the work done so far. I f elt that I was too protected by my seniors and in-charge previously, as they would check my work before submitting my work to the manager for review. For now, there was no one to check my work and I have to think on my feet and complete them with care before submission. As compared with the project work and assignments in school, we could seek our friends help and lecturers opinions before the final submission and do not need to worry about making mistakes. Reflection on an Incident Carelessness For my first engagement, one of the tasks that I was assigned to was to vouch the credit terms for the major debtors. As it was my first time, I was nervous and stressed up over the deadlines. When asked by my team in-charge if I have completed all the vouching, I told her that I have completed the task and she believed me. However, to her dismay, she realised that the section was not completed when we went back to the office. I have forgotten to vouch that particular section and my in-charge had to call up the client to enquire on the details one by one. This has definitely added on her workloads as I understood that the section was due for review by the director that day. I thought that I have learnt my lesson from this incident. However, for the same engagement, but for the follow-up session, my team members were not around and my manager took leave and later on fell ill for another 2 weeks before my follow-up sessions. My manager had told me to keep track of the confirmations and correspondences with the client and third parties while she was away. Upon receipt of the confirmations and correspondences, I have to update in the control sheet, whether the confirmed balance is the same as the balance as shown in the accounts receivable and accounts payable listing. When my manager came back from her medical leave, she alerted me that I have signed and filled in a confirmation, which was actually returned to us, without any confirmation of the balances, as the address for the intercompany in Italy was wrong. Since the signing of the accounts was agreed on 13 December 2010, we were running short of time. My manager reprimanded me for the carelessness. I took immediate action by requesting our client to alert their intercompany in Italy to send a confirmation again, if not, at least, a scanned copy before the signing of the accounts. I regret for not learning my lesson previously as this was a repeat incident. Ever since then, I resolved to be careful in my work and to double check before submission. My manager acknowledged that I have put in efforts in my future tasks ever since that incident. Word Count: 2940 Appendices Appendix A Source: (PwC Singapore, 2010)

Creatine and its Dangers Essay -- Athletics Health Essays

Creatine and its Dangers Creatine is a very controversial supplement on the market today. Many endorse the uses of creatine, but others are skeptical about the advantage a person receives from taking it and the dangers one inherits as a result of creatine consumption. The debate remains due to the short amount of time that creatine has been available. People base their opinions on preliminary studies that have been done but no one knows the long-term effects of creatine on the body. Many take the risk without vast knowledge, but others still remain skeptical based on preliminary evidence that discourages the intake of creatine. How Creatine Works Creatine is naturally produced in the body in the liver, pancreas, and kidneys. It can also be provided to the body through the consumption of fish and meat. (http://www.mothernature.com/ency/supp/creatine_monohydrate.asp) Creatine aids in the process of ATP which is energy used for quick, explosive activities such as the sports listed above. When ATP levels drop, muscles become fatigued. â€Å"Regeneration of ATP is essential if fatigue is to be delayed,† according to Charles P. Bolotte, MD. (http://www.lsms.org/journal/98creat.html) In theory, taking more creatine supplements allows for more creatine to be available to synthesize more ATP and therefore causes less fatigue in muscles. ATP is readily available energy for the body that is used in everyday activity. The synthesis of ATP is needed for all activities in the daily lives of people. It is used in the transmission of nerve signals, the movement of muscles, the synthesis of proteins, and cell division. Energy is released when one of the bonds between the end phosphate group is broken and the molecule becomes... ... only proven method for increasing physical shape and muscle mass is hard athletic training. Bibliography Ekblom, B. (1996). Effects of creatine supplementation on performance. American Journal of Sports Medicine, 24, 38-39. Juhn, M.S. & Tarnopolsky M. (1998). Potential side effects of oral creatine supplementation: a critical review. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 8, 298-304. Stone, M.H. et al. (1999). Effects of in-season (5 weeks) creatine and pyruvate supplementation on anaerobic performance body composition in American football players. International Journal of Sport Nutrition, 9, 146-165. Vahedi, K. & Domigo, V. & Amarenco, P. & Bousser M.G. (2000). Ischaemic stroke in a sportsman who consumed Mahuang extract and creatine monohydrate for body-building. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 68, 112-113.

The American Penal System Essay -- solitary confinement, punishment, se

Imagine living your life inside of an enclosed, seven by twelve foot, concrete cell. The only access you have to outside world is the small slot in the door used for delivering medication and food, and a tiny window, used by the guards to make sure you are alive and breathing. The fact that they even have to check if you are alive should be a red flag to society. You are here for twenty three hours a day with only one hour of â€Å"recreation† outside of this cell. This time can be used to shower, workout or make a phone call, but you are still isolated. You are here locked up for weeks, months, or maybe even years. Throughout this whole time, you are left alone with no meaningful activity; just yourself and your thoughts, which can eventually drive you mad. This is solitary confinement. According to the Washington Post's â€Å"The Torture of Solitude,† â€Å"The United States holds the highest number of prisoners in solitary confinement of any democratic nation...â⠂¬  This is what approximately 80,000 prisoners across America have to suffer through. This is what the rest of the United States population should consider immoral. Solitary confinement was first introduced as a â€Å"humane alternative to hanging almost two hundred years ago† (ABS News). Yet there is nothing humane about it. The American Penal System needs to ban long term solitary confinement because it is unnecessary, inhumane, and ineffective. Many sentences of solitary confinement are unnecessary because many prisoners do not deserve such a harsh punishment. Deciding to place a criminal in solitary should be a last resort. Prison is a good enough punishment for people who have committed petty crimes. It is unnecessary for them to be placed in solitary, if they are not a danger to th... ... so they can eventually learn from their wrongs. They are eventually going to be integrated back into society, so we should help them become better people. Works Cited ABC News. "Solitary Confinement: No Way Out of the Monster Factory." YouTube. YouTube, 20 Sept. 2012. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. Curtis, Abigail. "Is Solitary Confinement Torture?: Proposed Bill would Place Limits on use of Solitary Confinement in State Prison." McClatchy - Tribune Business News. Oct 24 2009. ProQuest. Web. 28 Oct. 2013 . National Geographic Society. â€Å"Explorer: Solitary Confinement.† National Geographic Channel. Web Video. 22 Nov. 2013. "NYCLU Report Exposes Inhumane, Arbitrary use of Solitary Confinement in NY State Prisons." Targeted News Service. Oct 02 2012. ProQuest. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. "The Torture of Solitude." Washington Post. 2 July 2012. Academic OneFile. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.

Story about a Car Wreck Essay -- Personal Narrative Essays

â€Å"We have to get them out of there!† I heard voices yelling out in the distance, but was to lightheaded to know where they were coming from. Confused, shocked and fear filled my mind as I lye on my side, gasping for air, trying desperately to stagger onto my knees. A sharp pain suddenly ran up my spine into my forehead and quickly I collapsed back onto the cold damp floor inside this mangled metal coffin in which I was trapped in. Bit by bit I moved my hand closer to my forehead, trying to impede this massive throbbing that was affecting my head. I skimmed my forehead and paused my hand on a huge gash. The pain shot into my head again, but I was able to clutch on to the seat and hold my balance. There was blood pouring down the side of my face, forming a puddle on the floor. As I lifted my head up, all I could see were lights flashing and ghostly shadows moving in all directions. The blood that I had loss slowly took affect on me, feeling disoriented I plummeted to the ground hoping that this twisted metal coffin would not become my tombstone. â€Å"I don’t want to go!† I shouted at my mom. â€Å"Perry get in the car, no questions asked!†She refused to repeat herself. My mom was one of those people who had been through a lot in her life. When you stared in her eyes, instead of her backing down she would stare right back at you with 10 times the force, which literally felt like your eyeballs were being pushed right to the back of your head. She always made dinner for the family, and like any women had a little â€Å"me† time where no one could bother her as she filled her brain with useless T.V drama. â€Å"Hurry your lazy ass up† my little brother swiftly remarked before making his quick exit through the front door. â€Å"I’ am not going to hi... ... was placed over my face. Was it over? I deliberated to myself. I tried not to breathe, but in less than a second I was unconscious again. In no apparent order multiple scenes began to flash through my head. My thoughts turned to nothing, and for one minute all I saw in my mind was an everlasting black abyss accompanied by a single deafening beep. â€Å"Perry...Perry?† A soft peaceful voice echoed in my eardrum. â€Å"Good morning† A beautiful nurse awoke me. I truly thought I was in heaven. â€Å"How are you feeling their big guy?† My curiosity got the better of me â€Å"am I in heaven?† She chuckled â€Å"Of course not† she started running some tests. I slowly pushed my eyelids open, finally coming face to face with reality. â€Å"Is my mom okay?† â€Å"Yea she’s fine, you did a very brave thing back there,† she whispered to me. I whispered back, â€Å"the funny thing was†¦I never wanted to go†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 

Meaning of life essay Essay

?â€Å"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life† (Camus). If you spend your whole life searching for one thing you will waste your life and it will only take a few moments for time to pass you by. The meaning of life is nonexistent and imponderable. ?â€Å"The meaning of life is contained in every single expression of life. It is present in the infinity of forms and phenomena that exist in all of creation† (Jackson). The meaning of life is simply the way you view it. Like religion everyone has different philosophies and opinions and only those who give life a meaning have the true understanding of the meaning of life. My Opinion on the Meaning of Life I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning, because there truly is no meaning otherwise. I believe everyone adds their own meaning to life. The meaning of life is never universal, never complex. I believe the meaning of life should be simple and potentially whatever we want it to be. I do what I do because I want to. It’s that simple for me; I do it because it means something to me. â€Å"Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can† (Kaye). I believe this quote is saying that you should give life your all and do whatever it takes to make your life the way you want it. This is saying someone should do what you believe the philosophy of your life is. Many people go about their lives searching for the meaning of life and how it applies to them but in reality they will waste their lives away looking for something that does not exist. â€Å"There is not one big cosmic meaning for all; there is only the meaning we each give to our life, an individual meaning, an individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person† (Nin). â€Å"Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer† (Campbell). This is saying how we bring the meaning to life and our thoughts and ideas on what we believe life is and should be. I do not believe in the idea of there being one specific meaning but millions for each and every soul around the earth. Various populations will all agree to disagree about their views but in retrospect you realize that everyone is right. Everyone gives their own meaning to the idea. Purposes and meanings will change, but the overall meaning to life, that there is no true meaning, will always stay the same. I believe the meaning of life is to give life a meaning. Works Cited ?†Albert Camus Quote. † BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. . ?†Anais Nin Quote. † BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. ?†Danny Kaye Quote. † BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. . ?†Michael Jackson Quote. † BrainyQuote. Xplore. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. .

Book of Negroes Essay

As an old woman, Aminata Diallo is brought to London, England, in 1802, by abolitionists who are petitioning to end the slave trade. As she awaits an audience with King George, she recounts her remarkable life on paper, beginning with her life in Bayo, in western Africa, prior to being abducted from her family at age 11, seeing the death of her mother and father, and being marched in a coffle of captives to the coast along with others from her village. Chekura, a boy of similar age who assists the slave catchers, is at the last minute abducted himself and forced to join Aminata on the slave ship. Despite suffering humiliation, witnessing atrocities, enduring squalor and languishing in starvation, Aminata survives the passage to America because she is able to apply the knowledge and skills passed on to her by her parents, especially the ability to â€Å"catch† babies and to understand some African languages. In South Carolina, Aminata is auctioned off to an indigo plantation, along with a man from her village who has lost his senses during the ocean crossing. She learns the language of the â€Å"buckra† through the teachings of Georgia, an American-born slave, as well as from Mamed, the overseer of the plantation. Daily, Aminata must navigate the new dangers of disease and the eye of the plantation master while she searches for a way to return to her homeland. As she carries Chekura’s child, she is warned that Master Appleby could take it away at any time. Sure enough, at ten months, Aminata’s son, Mamadu, is sold by Appleby and Chekura also disappears. Stricken with grief, Aminata falls into a depression and refuses to work on the plantation. Appleby sells her to Solomon Lindo, the indigo inspector of the region, and she departs for a new life in Charles Town where Lindo promises to treat her as a â€Å"servant† rather than as a â€Å"slave† in that she works for wage and pays rent to Lindo. During rioting in New York City that coincides with the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Aminata is presented with an opportunity to escape and does so, while Lindo is forced to flee back to the Carolinas. Aminata quickly makes new friends and connections and supports herself by catching babies and working at a tavern, all the while helping others by teaching them how to read and write. Following the surrender of the British, former slaves who have worked for one year or more behind the lines for the British are offered asylum in Nova Scotia. These people’s names are recorded in a ledger called The Book of Negroes, penned in part by Aminata because of her knowledge of many languages. Aminata and Chekura reunite and are given passage aboard the ship Joseph, but Appleby returns for one final act of vengeance against Aminata: he makes a claim to her, separating her from Chekura once more. While Chekura continues to Nova Scotia, Aminata must stand trial, and it is Solomon Lindo who ends up setting her free. Aminata lands in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, on the last Loyalist ship, and she has to use her talents as a baby catcher, reader and teacher once again to survive, for the sake of herself and her unborn child, as she prepares for the journey to reunite with Chekura in Annapolis Royal. However, her inquiries come up empty. May, their three-year-old child, is abducted by the Witherspoons, a white couple who had befriended Aminata, and Aminata returns to a life without hope. When the opportunity arises for Aminata to cross the ocean again to begin a colony in Sierra Leone, Africa, she is shocked to learn of Chekura’s death and decides to make the journey to her homeland. The struggle to maintain the colony of Freetown under the control of the Sierra Leone Company is complicated by its proximity to Bance Island and the slave trade. Relations with the local Temne are strained, and tempers flare when slave coffles are marched directly in front of Freetown. Longing to see her beloved Bayo village, Aminata agrees to travel back to Bance Island to secure passage into the interior. However, one month into her journey inland, she learns of the betrayal that she is to be sold back into slavery; she flees for days until she finds sanctuary in a village. Realizing that she will never return to her true home, she leaves for London to join the abolitionists to end slavery. She writes an account of her life that is shared in Parliament, and she meets with King George III and Queen Charlotte Sophia. Because of the attention from the newspapers, Aminata’s long-lost daughter, May, finds her after an eighteen-year separation and takes care of her in her old age as the struggle to end slavery continues in Parliament.