iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

What are the chances THE Terry Gross uses a Gmail account to invite guests to come on @nprfreshair.bsky.social?

Screenshot of a phishing email from "Terry Gross" to invite the author of The Driver's Story (Me!) on Fresh Air

Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Anyone with access to the International Journal of Maritime History able to do me a favor and send a copy of this review? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Choice selected THE DRIVER'S STORY as one of five Outstanding Academic Titles in History, Geography & Area Studies. www.choice360.org/choice-pick/...

Choice Reviews text about THE DRIVER'S STORY next to a thumbnail image of the book's cover

Text reads:

This thoughtful book reexamines one of the most vilified and caricatured figures in Atlantic slavery: the overseer, or what Browne (Xavier Univ.) calls “the driver.” Drivers have come to symbolize the Atlantic slave regime’s brutal tactics, namely whipping and sexual assault. However, lay readers may not know that most drivers were enslaved Black men. As much as drivers enforced, wielded, and upheld the violence of the slave system, enslavers also subjected these men, and occasionally women, to “relentless surveillance and brutal discipline,” trapping them “at the center of the very labor system they were forced to uphold.” Browne explores the driver’s “fraught negotiations, contingent alliances, and difficult compromises.” Yet, the story of the driver is also necessarily that of enslavers, enslaved laborers, fiscals, judges, and other legal officials. Filtering what is essentially a micro-study of the plantation through the perspective of the driver, Browne shows that resistance often lay at the heart of the driving system—drivers could both punish and protect other enslaved people and were at the forefront of many well-known slave revolts and rebellions across the Caribbean precisely because of their influence and authority. To produce this empathetic “human history,” Browne expertly and painstakingly sifted through archival records found across the Atlantic World from Guyana to the UK.

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

Didn’t write a single word but spring break sure was productive.

Goofy footed surfer making a too late bottom turn on a right in El Salvador during a big swell

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Do you mean searching for a keyword while previewing a book? I just tried it with one of mine and it worked.

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

What an honor to see THE DRIVER'S STORY selected as a finalist for ASWAD's P. Sterling Stuckey Book Prize, alongside scholars I deeply admire: Edda L. Fields-Black, Erik S. McDuffie, and Christopher Tounsel. Congrats to the finalists for the other prizes, too! www.aswadiaspora.org/index.php?op...

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Skipping the AHA this year, but with good memories of last year, especially this roundtable with Chris Brown, @araujohistorian.bsky.social, and @sethrockman.bsky.social.

Photo of four people standing, three of them (Randy Browne, Ana Lucia Araujo, and Seth Rockman) holding their recently published books.

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Anyone able to send me a copy of this review from the @journalslavery.bsky.social?

Screen shot of Journal of Global Studies review of Randy M. Browne, The Driver's Story

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Thank god! I had been worried about them this whole time.

"Who Didn’t Suffer During the Shutdown? People Flying Private." with image of a little private plane against a blue sky, free of commercial-flying peasant passengers

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Anyone with access to Oxford Bibliographies in Anthropology able to send me a PDF of this "Plantations" bibliography?

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Huh, weird! It's this I'm looking for:

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

I'm so honored that THE DRIVER'S STORY is a finalist for the @slaveryarchive.bsky.social Book Prize! Congrats to the other finalists, @daviddoddington.bsky.social and @profjennyshaw.bsky.social. www.slaveryarchive.com/slaveryarchi...

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Gross, and it looks like OpenAI trained from 13 of my publications, including my two books.

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Nice to come across this very positive review of my book in the Journal of Southern History. muse.jhu.edu/pub/285/arti...

Pull quote from review of THE DRIVER'S STORY in the Journal of Southern History. Text reads: "The stories in this volume, taken together, provide an incredible glimpse into the daily lives of drivers, the struggles they faced, and the careful calculations that they made—including whether to support rebellions—in order to survive the unrelenting violence of the plantation driving system. This is an excellent book.”

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Yet another reason the shift to AI everything is not going smoothly. @unitedairlinesual.bsky.social chatbot thinks that Managua (capital of Nicaragua) is part of Costa Rica.

Screenshot of United Chatbot, reading: "You can bring a surfboard on your trip from CVG to Managua with United Airlines. The surfboard must be packed in a board bag and weigh less than 100 pounds (45.3 kg). It should not exceed 115 total inches (length + width + height) if you're flying on United. If your flight has an extra bag limit, surfboards aren't accepted unless you're flying to Costa Rica, which includes Managua."

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

THE DRIVER'S STORY (@pennpress.bsky.social) has won the Independent Publisher Book Awards Gold Medal for World History. 🎉

Independent Publisher Book Awards graphic w/ gold medal (world history) icon for THE DRIVER'S STORY

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Good news to share: my THE DRIVER'S STORY (@pennpress.bsky.social, 2024) has received the 2025 Senior Scholar Publication Award from the Ohio Academy of History.

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Thanks to Clifton E. Sorrell, III, for this generous review of THE DRIVERS'S STORY, which he calls "a critical intervention that deepens our understanding of the entangled dynamics of power, resistance, and survival in Atlantic slavery.” www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Screenshot of book review, which reads: "Browne provides a nuanced, thought-provoking analysis of the complex roles played by enslaved drivers in the southern British Caribbean. By situating drivers at the intersection of plantation management, enslaved community leadership, and resistance, Browne illuminates their ‘fundamental predicament’ as both the enforcers and victims of the plantation regime. Browne’s work thus offers a critical intervention that deepens our understanding of the entangled dynamics of power, resistance, and survival in Atlantic slavery.”

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

A few lovely photos a mutual friend shared -- UWI Mona History Department in 1987, and Sir Roy w/ Swithin Wilmot at Roy's centenary luncheon last month.

UWI Mona faculty under a tree's shade, some standing and some sitting

Sir Roy Augier and Within Wilmot, seated and talking in front of a table

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

I'm grateful for Marlene Daut's thoughtful review for CHOICE of my THE DRIVER'S STORY, which she deems "highly recommended." www-choicereviews-org.xavier.idm.oclc.org/review/10.58...

Screenshot of CHOICE review of THE DRIVER'S STORY.
Choice Issue: mar 2025 vol. 62 no. 7. Choice Review #: 62-1747. Full text here: https://www-choicereviews-org.xavier.idm.oclc.org/review/10.5860/CHOICE.237330

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Visiting my book at the @pennpress.bsky.social AHA booth with my truly outstanding editor, Bob Lockhart.

Two guys standing at the Penn Press AHA book exhibit (one with a copy of THE DRIVER'S STORY in hand)

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Anyone w/ access to the Hispanic American Historical Review able to send me a PDF of this review? My university doesn't subscribe to it.

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

I finished reading @araujohistorian.bsky.social's HUMANS IN SHACKLES earlier this week and highly recommend it. In my view, it's the single best overview of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery in the Americas, with so much to offer newcomers/students and specialists alike.

Blue book (Ana Lucia Araujo, HUMANS IN SHACKLES) on a wooden desk.

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Upcoming book events for THE DRIVER'S STORY (details here, too: www.randymbrowne.com/news-events)

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Check out the @slaveryarchive.bsky.social 2024-2025 Book Club lineup. www.slaveryarchive.com/book-club/20...

Screenshot from https://www.slaveryarchive.com/book-club/2024-2025-slaveryarchive-book-club/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHBEtRleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHY_VFkQdaUiwVARs6eMgY6kDFdWuAQ-c-yQ4--gYIJJGf32FjSLuHEbgHQ_aem_cmchYk7euBPIFIt0CQ4cdg

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Thoughtful review of THE DRIVER'S STORY in Labour History Review by Siân Davies, who concludes: "The Driver’s Story enriches our understanding of the plantation regime and the complexity and nuances of enslaved labourers’ struggles for survival." www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/abs/10.3...

Screen shot of review of THE DRIVER'S STORY by Siân Davies. Text reads: "Overall, Browne’s examination of the drivers’ position, their function, their social role, and efforts to build communities, as well as the violence and horrors they faced in these efforts, allows us to
understand better the durability of the plantation system in the face of so much resistance and struggle. The Driver’s Story enriches our understanding of the plantation regime and the complexity and nuances of enslaved labourers’ struggles for survival."

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Who else will be at AHA next year? I'm ooking forward to it, incl. this panel on new books in Atlantic slavery, w/ Christopher Brown, @araujohistorian.bsky.social, @maryhicks.bsky.social, @sethrockman.bsky.social, and Anne Ruderman. aha.confex.com/aha/2025/web...

AHA panel screenshot -- full text here: https://aha.confex.com/aha/2025/webprogram/Session26355.html

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 12/11/2024

Meet Mr. Waternoose, our new foster dog. Very chill guy, tolerated a bath yesterday, been decompressing at some since then, enjoying life outside the shelter. 10/10, will be happy but sad to see him find his forever home.

Cute as can be white and black boxer/pit mix dog getting toweled off after a shower.

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 10/11/2024

Assigning THE DRIVER'S STORY next semester? Feel free to drop me a line if you'd like me to Zoom into your class for a discussion.

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 15/02/2024

Some good news to share: I'm deeply honored to receive the Roger A. Fortin Award for Outstanding Teaching and Scholarship in the Humanities from Xavier University.

Announcement that this year’s recipient of the Roger A. Fortin Award for Outstanding Teaching and Scholarship in the Humanities is Randy Browne, w/ photo of Randy.

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 15/12/2023

Attn. reviewers, review editors, librarians, etc.: electronic galleys of THE DRIVER'S STORY: LABOR AND POWER IN THE WORLD OF ATLANTIC SLAVERY (Penn Press, May 2024) are now available to request on NetGalley: netgalley.com/catalog/book...

cover of The Driver's Story: Labor and Power in the World of Atlantic Slavery, by Randy M. Browne

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 13/12/2023

A rare glimpse of purported country marks among enslaved laborers in Berbice (from an 1819 slave register)

Detail from 1819 Berbice slave register, with illustrations of purported country marks and "marked thus on belly"

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 08/12/2023

Looks like advance review copies of THE DRIVER'S STORY (Penn Press, May 2024) will be available any day now! It'll be on NetGalley but I'm also happy to put interested review editors, etc., in touch with my publicist.

Cover of Randy Browne's The Driver's Story: Labor and Power in the World of Atlantic Slavery (Penn Press, May 2024), showing an enslaved African man (detail from Dirk Valkenburg's "Slave Dance")

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Randy Browne @randybrowne.bsky.social · 21/11/2023

Blurbs for my new book, THE DRIVER'S STORY: LABOR AND POWER IN THE WORLD OF ATLANTIC SLAVERY, are up! I'm so very grateful for these endorsements from three of the historians I most admire.

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