Witchcraze : New History of the European Witch Hunts, a

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book is a major contribution to the field. It's well researched and presents some fascinating angles I was not aware of before. As for the statement of the earlier reviewer that the witch burnings couldn't have been prompted by mysogyny since "only" 80% of the victims for women, that's rather like saying that the Klu Klux Klan isn't racist since "only" 80% of their victims are black, the rest being uppity whites they don't like. When bullies have access to a weapon as terrible as a witch burning or a lynching, it would be going against human nature to expect them to confine its use to one group of victims. They'll use it against anyone and eveyone who crosses their path that they can get away with using it on. _Witchcraze_ presents a wonderful record of the diversity of life in Europe before the witch burnings, and a chilling account of a multicultural society's confrontation with a terror weapon forcing them to conform. I especially enjoyed the glimpses into the indiginous lifestyles of various European peoples before their enforced "standardization" and the detailed description of the difference between village justice and imperial justice.