leasummer's review against another edition
3.0
This is a heavy book - both literally and figuratively. This is a VERY detailed history of the late 1600s in New England, centered around the Salem witch trials. I got bogged down by the detailed background information - there would be multiple pages about the background/history of a character in the middle of the text regarding the hearings and then it would continue on with the hearings. There is a lot of good historical information about the government, what it meant to be a Puritan and what life was like during the late 1600s. However, this made it tough to just read through. There is little information about the accused and the accusers, due to the lack of historical data on them; it's basically a history on the guys who proceeded over the trials. A majority of the time it read like a textbook - for me, this is a great resource book but not so much a sit down and read history.
I almost abandoned the book, I had to force myself to keep reading - I treated it like a homework assignment. The only thing that kept me going was the interest in the subject, particularly Susannah Martin, who I am a descendant of.
I almost abandoned the book, I had to force myself to keep reading - I treated it like a homework assignment. The only thing that kept me going was the interest in the subject, particularly Susannah Martin, who I am a descendant of.
laurenjpegler's review against another edition
No rating as I didn’t actually read this book, just skim read, looking out for the things that I could use in my dissertation on Victorian witches. From the sections that I did read, I have no doubt that this would be a very interesting book. From the looks of it, Schiff really researched into the Salem witches, looking at individual cases and their outcomes.
A lot of it just wasn’t relevant to my research, and as a result I didn’t have the time to actually spend reading the stuff I was being told, which is a little bit of a shame, but I can always return to it at a later date!
A lot of it just wasn’t relevant to my research, and as a result I didn’t have the time to actually spend reading the stuff I was being told, which is a little bit of a shame, but I can always return to it at a later date!
ktxx22's review against another edition
I’m DNFing this book at 37% because it’s akin to watching paint dry. SOOOOOOOOOOO boring!! I think Schiff was trying to be historically accurate but in trying to convey, what should have been incredibly interesting start to finish, this book fell right on its face with way too many words that were unnecessary, a lot of focus on people who were not central to the actual trials, plus a heaping pile of conjecture and oddly offered footnotes.... like she quoted Dumbledore in a nonfiction book.... um what?? No rating because I didn’t make it past the halfway point.
marydith's review against another edition
It wasn't bad at all and parts of it were really interesting, I was just having so much trouble focusing.
haysx5's review against another edition
I love non-fiction and was excited to read this book. Unfortunately it’s just too detailed and boring. I hate the footnotes being included in the audiobook.
frannymuzza's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
2.5
Interesting but very slow paced.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, Violence, and Death
bldinmt's review against another edition
3.0
The Salem saga was even wilder than I had previously realized. Holy smokes. What a story!