Customer Reviews

Modern Wicca: A History From Gerald Gardner to the Present

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was pleasantly surprised with Michael Howard's 'Modern Wicca'. It is a must have for anyone interested in the history of the modern witchcraft movement. His history is honest and direct telling about his own experiences and insights over the year's he known well.
I could say more but a simple a job well done should be enough .

Dave Finnin

Howard has produced quite a good book that will be welcomed by anyone with an interest in the birth and development of Wicca. In a time when shelves are bursting with a plethora of Wicca 101 and how-to books on the subject, this book that deals with the history of this belief is a breath of fresh air. Within its pages, the author deals in detail with important figures and events from Gerald Gardner's pre-Wicca days right through to the evolution of today's varied incarnations of Wicca.

My only criticism of the book is the two-edged sword of detail given in the work. While the profuse facts, dates, names, and places given add to the accuracy and historical value of Modern Wicca, the sheer quantity of these bogs down the book in places, wrecks narrative cohesion, and in some instances can lose the reader down rabbit trails that do not advance the individual chapter, or the book as a whole.

Beyond that, I recommend this book to anyone with a real interest in the history of Wicca.

Anyone who has read any of Mike Howard's other books -- anything with his name on it, as writer or editor, is pure gold, as far as I'm concerned -- or any of the issues of his magazine The Cauldron, published since 1976 and well worth seeking out, will know he is a great writer with a rich history of involvement in the British witchcraft movement (and by extension the American); this book is that history. It goes from Gerald Gardner on, and is full of the kind of social in's and out's, the rise and fall of covens, their evolution, that make such books enjoyable for those who love these things, myself included. It *is* a history, as opposed to yet another book of Wicca 101 basic ritual or whatever, but I can't imagine anyone interested in the subject reading this and not being delighted. It was, incidentally, one of my first Kindle purchases, and so far is both the best and least expensive purchase I've made w/ my new little gadget. Highly recommended!

I was rather surprised and very happy to find that this is a very detailed account of Wicca over the years, and that it's a genuinely good read. I actually enjoyed reading it a lot more than other essays, websites, sections in books etc. about the history of Wicca. It does consider other theories than the ones predominantly written about, and thus gives a fuller view of the history. Reading it can be a bit of a juggling act of trying to remember all the characters as they often come up through the book, but it's worth it. Great in-text citations.

I just read this book. I found the book interesting but hard to follow. For one thing, it lacks an index. If it ever gets to a second edition, I think an index would be helpful to follow all the names in Wicca's history that Howard gives us. I also found that it jumped around a bit chronologically. Aside from these points, I was glad to see a history of Modern Wicca out there.