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A review by mrgrifter
Satan's Silence: Ritual Abuse and the Making of a Modern American Witch Hunt by Debbie Nathan, Michael Snedeker
5.0
Debbie Nathan and her co-author do a great job rounding up all of the major ritual abuse cases of the 1980s and giving this period of hysteria its proper context. Especially interesting is how Nathan highlights the alliance of right and left-wing causes that encouraged this bizarre craze and the country's fascination with it. Bravo to Nathan for standing up on the record against a diverse collection of groups and individuals who clearly dislike being called out.
The scene-setting of the first portion of the book is tightly written. Once Nathan and her co-author get into the actual meat of the cases, there's a little bit of jumping around that sometimes gets confusing, so perhaps some organizational improvements could have been made. However, it's a sprawling story to tell, and Nathan has done an excellent job of both small and big picture storytelling.
The scene-setting of the first portion of the book is tightly written. Once Nathan and her co-author get into the actual meat of the cases, there's a little bit of jumping around that sometimes gets confusing, so perhaps some organizational improvements could have been made. However, it's a sprawling story to tell, and Nathan has done an excellent job of both small and big picture storytelling.