Customer Reviews

Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt

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I really can't overemphasize the quality of this new resource book on the witchcraft trials. The research here is meticulous, and the organization is outstanding. This collection will make the witch trials history more accessible to general readers, but it will be especially exciting to scholars, historians, and experts on Salem, who will revel in the new information that this book brings to light. Highly recommended for libraries, especially. I plan to use the book in my college-level early American lit course, not just when we discuss Salem, but also when we are discussing the process of history, the reliability of "primary sources," and the way that researchers piece together the puzzle of the past.

What a herculean undertaking this book represents. All of the witchcraft papers brought seamlessly together in a neat, tidy, well-organized volume that explains the unclear, points out gaps and alternate spellings, and even provides brief biographies of the players. You would think that by now, all of this would be available somewhere on the web (hence, why shell out a hundred bucks?). The fact is, it is not. So much of what one finds at presumably reliable online locations is either flawed, incomplete, bereft of sources, or impossible to print or download. Mr. Rosenthal, thank you so much for shouldering this momentous task. Finally we have a complete set of documentation. It is a treasure.