Kindle Originally published in , this book represents the scholarly research through records of the Salem Witch trials. Complete documents are reprinted and framed within knowledge of the area and period. An attempt to explain and put into context what happened is thoroughly done--to the point where the reader may feel they are on an endurance march.
Reading on the Kindle was helpful because you can word search and therefore bounce to the segments for the names and trials you're most interes Kindle Originally published in , this book represents the scholarly research through records of the Salem Witch trials. Reading on the Kindle was helpful because you can word search and therefore bounce to the segments for the names and trials you're most interested in learning about, or revisiting.
Great detail. Great resource. Lots of contemporary documented information. Jan 22, Scott Holstad rated it really liked it Shelves: history. This was truly an interesting, unique book. It's old as hell, yet a monster and more thorough than most things I've read.
Which is where it comes close to failing. As fascinating as this book is, when you're dealing with a topic like this in a book of over pages, when books of similar value could conceivably be written at half that size or much less, while I love thoroughness more than most, it borders on tedium far too often. That's probably good more than bad, because something this old an This was truly an interesting, unique book.
That's probably good more than bad, because something this old and this important to this country's history needs to be well documented, but most people I know would probably have slit their wrists less than halfway through, because honestly, after awhile, it just seemed to become massively redundant. That being said, I like works such as that while most people I know don't. So while I usually try to recommend or not recommend a book, but this one is hard, because I definitely would recommend it to historians and academics and people who can handle a myriad of details without falling asleep, but if you're not that type, I don't think it's for you, so I wouldn't recommend it in that case.
For me though, a quality experience! Sep 18, Sara J. Reads exactly like you'd expect an author from the mids would write. Found this book rather dense and difficult to get through simply because I would get bored mid-sentence. He spent almost pages discussing family lineage that likely meant something to people in the s but was lost on me and lended toward a boring story.
The information about the witch trials and the background of inter-family conflicts was interesting, but overall would not recommend this to others. Very complete, sometimes to the point of tedium, but still enthralling. Everyone should read this book or another like it. A very sad chapter in our nation's history.
Shannon rated it really liked it Jan 26, Nicole Hardeman rated it liked it Jul 04, Mark Showalter rated it liked it Jan 12, Buffy rated it liked it Jan 06, Brenda Murphy rated it really liked it Mar 19, Jenny Barnhart rated it it was amazing Nov 03, Adelheid rated it really liked it Jan 18, Anubhuti rated it really liked it Jul 14, Jann rated it really liked it Oct 26, Steve rated it really liked it Oct 11, Gabrielle rated it liked it Jun 18, Graxe rated it liked it Mar 10, Bariann rated it really liked it Jan 08, Mark Woodland rated it really liked it Jul 28, Shaniece Nott Jaimes rated it it was amazing Jun 20, Shannan Galarneau rated it really liked it Apr 28, Jane Ward rated it did not like it Jul 16, Christian Lee rated it liked it Sep 30, Jen Boothroyd rated it really liked it Feb 01, Jen rated it really liked it May 13, Karl Thompson rated it really liked it Jun 12, Kristina Bow rated it really liked it Jul 07, Bethany rated it it was amazing Feb 04, But it's worth it!
Readers also enjoyed. About Charles W. Charles Wentworth Upham was a U. The Crucible is both a blessing and a curse for anyone interested in learning more about the Salem Witch Trials. On the plus side, it was responsible for kick starting a renewed interest in the witch trials and it fueled the start of the tourism industry in Salem. Yet one major drawback is, because it is based on the trials many readers mistaken believe that the play is historically accurate and think many of the things that happened in the play actually happened in real life.
As a result, a lot of myths and misunderstandings have stemmed from this play as well as the movie adaptation released in Miller took a lot of liberties with the story, which he had the right to do as a playwright, and injected his own theories, ideas and events.
Miller was inspired to write The Crucible after reading Charles W. The book was one of the first contemporary books published on the topic and is cited as an important historical book on the topic. Originally published in French in and later translated to English, this novel is a fictionalized account of the life of Tituba, a slave of Reverend Samuel Parris, who was one of the first women accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials.
This novel is interesting because Tituba is an often overlooked individual in the trials and this novel tries to remedy that by shining a light on her life. In doing so, the novel explores the role of gender and race in the witch trials and challenges traditionally white, male dominated historical narratives. Conde, a French author and former professor at Columbia University, has written numerous historical fiction novels, including the book Segu. Her novels typically explores social issues such as race and gender.
Published in , this novel is a fictionalized account of the afflicted girls of Salem Village. The story explores the theory that the afflicted girls were lying about their afflictions in an attempt to punish people that their families disliked. Rinaldi is a former newspaper columnist who later became an author.
It was one of the first comprehensive books about the Salem Witch Trials. Since it is an outdated historical text, it has its flaws and sometimes gets a few facts wrong for example, Upham confuses Sarah Bishop with Bridget Bishop and merges them into one person but is otherwise a great read.
If you like historical texts like this I also recommend reading any of the primary sources on the Salem Witch Trials, which were all written by the local ministers involved in the trials. Sources: Morrow, James. It does talk about the Salem trials though so I guess it technically qualifies as a Salem Witch Trials book.
The only thing I can really say about it is I noticed a lot of negative reviews from readers suddenly flooding in on Amazon. Critics seem to like it but readers say the complex dialogue and prose make it difficult to read. The Witches: Salem, is a great book. I saw a CSPAN reading for the book this summmer there are many readings on YouTube and I was disappointed to learn almost nothing new but the phase of the moon for a particular event, though I was impressed with the level of detail of research to have consulted astronomical charts to elucidate a detail.
She seemed to have done a lot of close reading at the PEM. It was the most insightful to me. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I certainly want to thank you for these recommendations.
I thought this one was the best at explaining the confusion over the identities of Sarah Bishop and Bridget Bishop. I had sorted this mixup out myself and was happy to see it seconded by a scholarly researcher like Roach. As you know, both Sarah and Edward were accused and jailed on suspicion of being witches.
I relied on every source I could find, including some very helpful deeds and town tax records. The deeds helped the most in sorting out the four men named Edward Bishop in because they each had unique marks or ways of signing these documents.
And Edward the third also signed his full name but could be identified by the unique figure used as a mark by his wife, Susan. Thank you again for this article. Both fabulous books—from different angles. Wrote a week or so ago seeking permission to publish the Susannah Martin memorial photo in our local quarterly genealogical journal. An interview with a descendant of hers. Hope I can use it—with citation and credit, of course. I just visited Salem as a tourist last week and am really looking forward to reading more about the witch trials.
I enjoyed it, although it does quote primary source language extensively and that sometimes got a little confusing. Are there any good films or documentaries again, apart from version of The Crucible you would recommend? I myself have also used these books in my research for this website expect for the fiction books and can personally recommend them as some of the best books on the trials: Disclaimer: This article contains Amazon affiliate links.
Roach Published in , this book explains the details and the events of the Salem Witch Trials as they happened. Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum Published in by Harvard University Press, this book explores the social setting and history of Salem prior to the witch trials to provide a better understanding of how and why they happened.
Death in Salem: The Private Lives Behind the Witch Hunt by Diane Foulds Published in , instead of looking at the big picture or listing the chronology of the events, this book explores the personal lives of the people involved in the trials to form a sort of psychological profile of the colony at the time.
Starkey Published in , The Devil in Massachusetts takes the dialogue of the Salem Witch Trials court records and uses it to tell the story of the trials in a dramatic narrative.
Starkey also applies modern psychology to the events to help explain what they really mean.
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