The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
melineegout's review against another edition
2.0
I was disappointed by this book as I was eager to learn more about the Salem witches. I found it very disorganized and hard to follow. The plots jumps from story to story without a concrete break or transition and the characters are tossed within it without a proper introduction. The lack of organization spoiled the book for me as I am not an expert on Salem. Despite that, the authorâs writing is absolutely compelling.
tico1021's review against another edition
Historical account. I found it a bit dry. Audiobook reader was a bit flat, not very engaging.Â
atirandomness's review against another edition
2.0
This book is unnecessarily hard to follow. And downright boring. Which makes me sad.
allisonsreading's review against another edition
Well...I stopped about a hundred pages in. I couldn't get into this book. I feel like I knew the same thing 100 pages in as I did 10 pages in.
katieem's review against another edition
Whew, almost a relief to finish this book, it was so intense. I wish I understood the âwhy and how this could have happenedâ, after finishing the book. However I think itâs just unexplainable.
andiadair22's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer: I listen to audiobooks as I'm going to bed, so occasionally I fall asleep for a chapter before realizing. However, I immensely enjoyed this biography. I can't believe it wasn't fiction! Schiff is a highly talented author.
andipants's review against another edition
DNF at 70 pages. It's clear the author did her research, but I could not get into this at all. The organization seemed lacking; it's basically a chronological account of the events surrounding the witch trials, but the book will randomly go off on long tangents about village politics or the history of witchcraft as a crime/sin, which are relevant, but not set apart or denoted in any way. It feels in many places like a big information dump, which makes it hard to keep track of everything. The descriptions of the interrogations and the alleged acts of witchcraft are also annoying, in that the author seems to be trying to present things as the villagers believed them to have happened, i.e., from the viewpoint that witchcraft is real. I'm much more interested in what actual occurrences could possibly have led presumably sane people to swear that they had, in fact, seen their neighbors flying through the air, or confess to bewitching local children. Obviously, much of that would be speculation at this point, but I'm much more interested in educated guesses from that angle than just rehashing the outlandish accusations. The closest we come to possible explanations are broad hints about local grudges and widespread alcohol use, but these are not new pieces of information, and broad hints are hardly satisfying here. Mostly, the strongest impression I've gotten so far is that Puritans were jerks, and I was pretty sure of that already.