The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present

I picked up The Witch on a lark, recognizing the author and thinking it might be a good read in the lead-up to Halloween. In fact, this book far exceeded all expectations. It is, quite simply, stupendous.This isn't just a history of witchcraft. It's a history of magic, religion, and folklore stretching from Siberia to Africa, ancient Egypt through medieval Europe to modern Britain.Here you will find Greeks, Romans, Persians, Germans, Irish, Livonians, witches, werewolves, witch doctors, the wild hunt, dream-warriors, familiars, striga, demons, faeries, cannibals, Christians, pagans, and everything in between.The writing can be rather densely academic (literally, given the small print size) but the content is superlative. I should think this sets a new standard in primers of Western witchcraft, and it's one of my favorite books of the year.

Across the board, this is a great book. Well written and gives a good overview of the topic. Recommend it for anyone interested in the topic.The only thing that was a bummer was that it covered the topic up through the beginning of the 1700s and that is where it ended. So it is not to the "present"

The author crafts (yes) a well-reasoned argument but based on likely faulty premises. GIGO. A good read, nonetheless.

This is an astonishing academic research achievement for which the author is commended and which certainly broadened my reference level of knowledge of the persecution of innocents for centuries due to fear and ignorance. It is not a research book that can be quickly read but is well worth the effort revealing this darkness of human nature.

This book is much more scholarly written than I had expected. I had no idea that witches appeared in so many cultures around the world and go back much farther in time than the 5-600 years in Europe and Amerca we typically learned about in school. At another time I might be ready to tackle a read of such comprehensive scope but for now I want something more suitable for reading in a deck chair on a sunny day.

Captivating! Intriguing! Raw! Elegant! This is Ronald Hutton's Magnum Opus! What a gift.

Great book

Great data.

buono ma acquistato per errore ..non posso dare una valutazione completa

Prof. Hutton hits another out of the ballpark!What an incredibly informationally dense book on the history of witches and witchcraft. A definite MUST read for anyone interested in Wicca, Witchcraft and history.

Nada a reclamar!

I really don't know about history much but really nice one if you wanna know about witch history

Few pages into the book any scholar or academic geek will be aroused by the methodology, estructure, and perfect prose Ronald Hutton uses for such topic. It is without a doubt some of the most exhaustive texts regarding witchcraft and the sociocultural consequences of its belief.