If you ever told me I'd be excitedly page-turning a book about the slave trade and the British navy in the early/mid 19th century, I'd probably have given you the look parents give their obviously lying children, but here we are. The Black Joke was smart, fascinating, fantastically detailed, and threaded with subtle humor. The book is organized around the captures of slavers made by the titular ship, but in addition to the saga of the prize capture itself, each includes historical & political context, background & development on the people & places involved, and never loses sight of the real subject of the book--the enslaved and the horrendous, atrocious, despicable, gut-turning conditions they were kept in, both on and off the slave ships. The only change I would make would be to include a map of the region, because I'm the kind of nerd who loves to refer to the map at the beginning of books & I found myself googling to make sure I understood the vastness of the places covered. The Black Joke is a well-written, vital read about a difficult subject, that I highly recommend.