Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A history of mass-hysteria - still possible today, August 17, 1999
By A Customer
I first read, "The Devil in Massachusetts" in the late1960s as part of a colonial history course. Having also an interest in psychology at that time, I was impressed with the story of the mass-hysteria and the book made a lasting impression on me.I re-read the book following a visit to Salem, Massachusetts this summer. I had noticed the same mass-hysteria involving false charges of child-sexual abuse along with the recovered memory movement during the 1980s an 1990s. Although Starkey necessarily presents her tale against a background of religion and religious delusions, the contempory mass-hysteria has no apparent connection to religion but the reactions of the public (society) shows a distrubing duplication of the process of hysterical contagion. Once a "cause", whether it be sexual abuse, gun control or other "hot-button" issue, is pushed into the limelight and kept there by fanatics of whatever stripe, abetted and given publicity by the media, the society (public) has almost a religious need to curtail critical thinking, accept accusation as proven fact, believe stories of impossible events and destroy their fellow citizens without compunction. And that is the horror that is demonstrated by Starkey's work; and the naivete of the old, standby reassurances, "It couldn't happen in this day and age", "It could never happen here".
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Factual errors abound, October 11, 1998
While this book, first published in 1949, is very readable, the serious student will be chagrined by it's factual errors.The writing style makes for a pleasant read, and Ms. Starkey does give the researcher clues where to find the real facts, but for the most part, read this book with a grain of salt. For instance, Ms. Starkey tells us that Lady Mary Phips was the widow of her own father... that the infamous George Burroughs was good at raising molasses kegs with 2 fingers... (the story is a MUSKET not molasses!) The errors continue into even more important realms. (Such as which Nehemiah Abbot was released by virtue of the 'afflicted' deciding they had 'the wrong man' - young Abbot's eloquent defense and calm demeanor should not be negated nor glossed over - or worse - attributed to another man!) On and on, one error after another. Frankly, as often as this book is used as a reference, I'm surprised someone else hasn't pointed out the poor research!
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12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
'DEVIL IN MASS.' a enjoyable perspective on Salem, September 3, 2001
I normally don't like books like this, especially books that pass themselves of as scholarly. However, I've always been interested in the Salem Witch Trials, and Starkey's "Devil in Massachusetts" is definitely not to be overlooked.This may not be the best, or the most thorough account of the trials, but if you're looking for the basics, as well as a little background info, "Devil" provides a very intriguing and interesting read. At times, Starkey's wording and verbosity seem a little exhaustive and can be overlooked. But for the brunt of it, Starkey provides enough information to justly conclude what did happen in Salem, what caused it, and the events that followed. Be scholarly, verbose reads your cup of tea or not, if you're looking for some great, solid information on the bleakest event of undemocratic justice ever to stain American history, Marion Starkey's "Devil in Mass." will definitely shed some reason and light on the "bubble, bubble, toil and trouble" of the Salem Witch Trials.
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