The Penguin Book of Witches is a resource containing the actual transcriptions of mostly colonial American witchcraft cases in the 17th century. There is a brief analysis prior to each case. It has excellent end notes. This is a bit dry as legal documents can be and will be of the most benefit to a researcher. If you are looking for something more fun read the editor Katherine Howe's book called The Physics Book of Deliverance Dane. ( )

This book is not fiction. What you'll find are actual documents and commentary on witch trails mostly in New England during the 1600s. I know people might find this book boring, but I'm highly interested in this topic and was hoping to find a book like this with documents. Helps steer away the fictional narrative people have on the trails.

How did they start and why did it spread? That's one question I have about the Salem Witch Trails. I use to care about the witchcraft, but learned it's really not about witchcraft. According to this book, it's about a lot of different topics. She points out too making this about witches or just focusing on the women you kind of miss the point. I more interested, I realize, how this because a hysteria and maybe how to prevent stuff like this from happening again.

Salem was a Puritan town. Their religion and knowing about their laws are important when talking about the trails. They weren't just after women; they were after anyone who wasn't their religion. This book briefly covers the incident with the Quakers, one woman was accused as a "witch" because she was a Quaker. This book also talks about the slaves and the natives. These white people weren't alone. This book doesn't really cover modern day, but clearly you could make a case that this event has happened within our own times, just look at the concentration camps, the Red Scare, post-9/11, to name a few.

At times this book is a little hard to read because it's not fully in modern English. I'm glad there were commentaries. I was already familiar with Howe's writing and thought she was a good pick for the editor. Recommend for those into the subject and don't mind reading documents over a book about "real" witches. ( )

Excellent non-fiction expostulation of the sociology of witchcraft in English speaking North America. Based on primary sources Katherine Howe builds a powerful picture of the gender, demographic, religious, economic, and political forces that led to the most notorious episode in North American witchcraft, the Salem witch hysteria in 1692 and its aftermath.

Compelling commentary enlivens the essential but often turgid source material. Howe builds a strong case for the cultural and historical components that drive the persecution of the non-conformist even today. For anyone who does not think this is relevant today I would point them to the case of Amanda Knox.

The book is poorly titled considering the content. I picked it up not really knowing what to expect from a story anthology to a cultural overview of modern Wiccan belief. ( )

Like Penguin's "Book of Magic", it's a nice collection of primary sources with helpful explanations and context. However, this does not cover all European witch crazes, it focuses strictly on later witchcraft trials in England and America. We see the work of William Perkins, a Cambridge Puritan, who imported Continental beliefs about witchcraft to England and directly influenced colonial Puritans. In fact the "Tryal of Witches" at Bury St. Edmunds in 1662 admitted spectral evidence or dream/vision evidence as a legal argument, which of course determined the conduct in Salem. The latter half of the book provides primary documents or excerpts for the Salem witch trials, but the Salem witch trials weren't the only cases in America.While the majority of cases did occur in various places around Massachusetts, the earliest recorded case appears in Virginia in 1626. There are trials in New York and an outbreak in Connecticut as well. It becomes obvious that trials occurring across the pond had a direct affect on the colonists. ( )

It was fascinating to read actual accounts written about the witch trials, and some other events involving the accusation and persecution of witches, during this time frame (1582-1813). At times the style was meandering or dry, but nonetheless, this is a true window into the past. Each piece has an introduction that gives clearer context and/or meaning, which is very useful. It is extraordinary to read the beliefs and actions of the people involved, and to see the hints of what was really behind at least some of these activities. ( )