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Rating: 
Summary: Great Book!
Review: Do you have parents that really dont understand why you are a wiccan?..or maybe grandparents?, or how about just friends and co-workers?. Well, if you buy this book for them, they might understand it a bit better and respect the religion that you have traveled a bit more. A great book to those that are ignorant towards wicca, it helps you to ease thier fear so that you can enjoy your religion a bit better. Well worth the time and money.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: Hats off to the author and the publisher that took a chance with this one. Let's face it folk, there are not a lot of people who are willing to listen. But if you have one in your life that might, this is THE book to hand him or her. The author describes the Wiccan religion in terms that non Wiccans can understand while all alone presenting the Wiccan religion as accurately as it can be presented in print. Even though my mother is comfortable with my religious choice, I purchased not only a copy for her but a second one for anyone she thinks would benefit from receiving it. In short, this is not a book that should be included in every Wiccan's library. It is the book that TWO copies should be in every Wiccan's library. The only thing I would change is the price. Oh, it is well worth it but I would be able to hand out twice as many if it cost half as much.
Rating: 
Summary: EEEEEWWWW!
Review: I was suspicious from the get-go with this title. It sounded too much like "When Someone You Love Is Dying/Has Cancer/Has AIDS" -- the kind of literature one gets from clueless but well-intentioned counselors. I had to force myself to get more than three pages into the book. And, I confess, I could not bring myself to finish it.
Specifically, it trotted out every fear and misrepresentation and half-truth about Wicca: "You may have heard <this>" and "Many people believe that we do <that>." And then pointed out how wrong these ideas were, as if all Wiccans held a multi-colored but monolithic block of beliefs.
Unfortunately, both when I read this as a practicing Wiccan and when trying to read it from the "curious co-worker" viewpoint, I became defensive. It seemed both apologetic and self-righteous. It tried to be deferential, but came off as condescending: "You poor, misguided mainstreamer! Here, let me set you straight."
Further, it tried to lump Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism into one large blob, allowing that there were differences in practices among these folks, but that they were related enough for this text to be inclusive. Ha!
My advice: If you need something to hand to a Nervous Parent or Concerned Friend, either Scott Cunningham's "The Truth About Witchcraft Today" (Llewellyn Publishing), or Tuitean & Daniels' "Pocket Guide to Wicca" (Crossing Press) does a much better job of factual presentation without paranoia. (Pocket Guide has a potential advantage of not having the word "witchcraft" in the title -- an insurmountably scary word for some folks.)
Rating:
Summary: Great idea, poorly executed
Review: I was very, very disappointed with this book. I bought it to share with my boyfriend to help me answer some of his questions about my religion. I decided to read it first, and realized that he already knows more than this book provides, and probably in a much better light. It's written on a 4th or 5th grade level, very simplistically, which makes it sound not all that intelligent, and by result could give the impression that Wiccans are not all that intelligent as a whole-- which is definitely the opposite of my experience. It lacks any beauty, any real insight, and I don't know why people are saying it was well researched, as it is something anyone with a basic understanding of Wicca could write. If it were my own first exposure to the old religion, I'd probably walk away shaking my head & saying, "Those people need a reality check." It could be useful in a limited sort of way, ie, the boss that needs to see something in print that you're not a devil worshipper, but you don't care if he has any real understanding- but I strongly suggest reading it before giving it to anyone you truly want to understand.
Rating:
Summary: Great idea, poorly executed
Review: I was very, very disappointed with this book. I bought it to share with my boyfriend to help me answer some of his questions about my religion. I decided to read it first, and realized that he already knows more than this book provides, and probably in a much better light. It's written on a 4th or 5th grade level, very simplistically, which makes it sound not all that intelligent, and by result could give the impression that Wiccans are not all that intelligent as a whole-- which is definitely the opposite of my experience. It lacks any beauty, any real insight, and I don't know why people are saying it was well researched, as it is something anyone with a basic understanding of Wicca could write. If it were my own first exposure to the old religion, I'd probably walk away shaking my head & saying, "Those people need a reality check." It could be useful in a limited sort of way, ie, the boss that needs to see something in print that you're not a devil worshipper, but you don't care if he has any real understanding- but I strongly suggest reading it before giving it to anyone you truly want to understand.
Rating:
Summary: How To Open Your Mind
Review: I've been practising various forms of the Craft for 18 years. This book is written in very simple terms for the everyday person to understand. Witchcraft is such a broad religion, that it's difficult to put into words that everyone can understand. This book has done that, and did it in a loving, caring tone - which is the basis of Wicca - to love and to heal. My pointy-hat is off to the author! Well done, good sir! I am purchasing more copies to keep on hand and have requested my Covenmates to do the same. Its a wonderful book and explains so much to the laymen in your life.
Rating: 
Summary: In a way, kinda dangerous
Review: There are many books out there that approach Wicca and Witchcraft from the beginners view, but Carl McColman approaches these topics from the viewpoint of someone not interested in becoming a Wiccan or Witch but needs, for whatever reason, to know about these things. Carl McColman has been a pagan since 1983. He has done the research on the subjects and tries to cover the basics of these spiritual paths, without being path specific or covering every single variation or tradition. The book takes the format of questions and answers for the most part, with an introduction of basic facts, common sense and an attempt to tie into some commonalities found in many religions. There is a good index and the book is laid out in well organized chapters. Mr. McColman's approach is to keep it simple, understandable and not confuse everyone with all the different opinions held by those in the pagan community. We are all aware how we love to be individualistic in our belief systems, and Mr. Colman successfully spotlights the meat and potatoes of our basic tenets. Mr. Colman states that this book is not meant for the initiated or the newbies who are looking to make this path their own. The book is not meant for theological discussion. He covers much of the 'misinformation' that the non-pagan will encounter and clarifies them so as to dispel these misconceptions. There is some good research, some general statements and some silly questions but the material is relevant to the audience the book is addressing. If you don't argue the generalities, this is a great book for the purpose it is intended. We need material like this for the curious mundane. While offering the beginners books for the curious has been the practice in the past, these books did not offer many of the answers that those who have no intention of following these paths were looking for. If you find you need a book of this kind in your family, workplace or community, this will fill the bill quite well.
Rating:
Summary: In a way, kinda dangerous
Review: This book regularly oversimplifies and misrepresents Wicca and other forms of Paganism.
While some will chalk this up to his target audience, "Concerned Friends, Nervous Parents, and Curious Co-Workers" are the *last* people you want to be seen as being over simplistic to.
I gave this work to my sister, unread... big, dumb mistake because within days she was pointing out the differences between what she has witnessed me practice for 23 years and what this book seemed to say I was practicing.
I understand the need for such a book, but this one is just *too* oversimplistic, and his definitions are often awful.
I just keep imagining a teen buying this for a parent who is really antiwiccan and getting in worse trouble when that parent interprets the oversimplication as *lies*.
That being said, well, if you give it to people who know he over simplifies, you should be okay, but *do not* give it to someone who is already biased as a cure because it will just make things worse.
Rating:
Summary: A great tool for communication
Review: This is a great simple book for people who knows someone who is on a Pagan path. It is in a very easy-to-read FAQ format. You don't have to read the book cover to cover. All you have to do is look up your question in the index, turn to that page and read the answer. I got this book for my mom to read so she could understand it more. She kept saying that witchcraft was evil and she was afraid for me. She had what would be, I guess, the basic concerns. I went through the index and highlighted the questions she kept asking me and gave it to her to read. Now, getting her to read it was a different story. She was afriad to read a book on witchcraft because she had no interest in believing in "that sort of thing". But this book isn't written to convert you or anything like that...it simply answers the most common questions and sets straight all the sterotypes people have about Wiccans/Witches/Pagans (it covers everything) I would reccomend if some you know/love is having a hard time understanding your spirtual path that you buy this book for them to read...or if you know someone on this spirtual path and you just want to try to make peace with them, this would be a good book to read. It's written only to help people understand...not to convert.
Rating:
Summary: A Confessor's Bible
Review: When I discovered this book, I thanked the Goddess right away. It came to me when I found myself explaining to a lot of people, and I felt that a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders.While the book sits largely unused on my shelf (as everyone I know has accepted my choice by now), it still gets a lot of advertising from me. "How do I confess to so-and-so" is the number one question I see on Pagan message boards, and I recommend this book every time.Every Wiccan must have at least one of these on their shelves. You never know when you might need it.
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