Reviews

American Witches: A Broomstick Tour Through Four Centuries by Susan Fair

anndudzinski's review against another edition

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this. A lot of the history I knew but some was enlightening. The author has a wonderfully witty voice.

darkangeldaria's review against another edition

3.0

I wanted to like this one, but the tone and constant injection of jest into the subject matter really grated on me. I have no problem with some dark humor, but I wanted to learn aspects of this time period that aren't covered by your average history course. There are aspects of this, but the facts and personal stories get overshadowed a bit by the writing style.

May not bother anyone as it did me, of course.

bookedrightmeow's review against another edition

Strangely lighthearted for a complex, dark topic. 

dreamingdust's review against another edition

3.0

An interesting overview of the witch crazes and related phenomena in the USA. A little light on detail in places and the chatty asides clashed a little with the information being presented, but overall enjoyable. I would recommend listening as an audiobook rather than reading as the presentation feels more like a podcast.

earlgreybooks's review against another edition

4.0

My thoughts about this book changed with pretty much every chapter. There were chapters I loved, and others that I really didn't. This is very much a basic look into the history of American witches, but still a good one nonetheless.

sam_bruner's review against another edition

5.0

Super well written, I thouroughly enjoyed it.

kazemiko's review against another edition

1.0

I....yeah. The tagline of this is that it's a broomstick tour through four centuries. It is not. It is through ~2 centuries with a smattering of 1999 thrown in. Susan Fair talks almost exclusively about the 1600s and 1800s. I was expecting there to be something about modern witchcraft, or the witchcraft revival of the 1950s. No. She literally just babbles for a while about the Salem witches and then talks about her interview with a mayor about a movie? It was not what I thought I was going to get nor was it what I wanted. The tone was way too sarcastic. Clearly Ms. Fair is just making fun of what was perceived as witchcraft in colonial America.

beesandbooks's review

2.0

All in all this book was mostly disappointing. It made me laugh a couple of times, but the tone can’t make up for the poor research and inaccurate presentation of that research. This book is definitely best suited for someone with no knowledge of the topic who wants a comedic introduction to the history of witchcraft and witchcraft accusations in America. Otherwise, you’ll likely be disappointed and bored by what history is included at all.

For the full review, check out my blog beesandbooks.home.blog