Reviews

"Hoffer's analysis sheds important light on early American law. "--Law and Politics Book Review"Useful and compelling."--Review of Politics"Hoffer enhances his presentation with a good eye for specific turning points in the Salem crisis, and that attentiveness lends support for his emphasis on the importance of human agency."--William and Mary Quarterly"Present[ed] well and in a manner easily grasped by the general reader."--Choice

"This book provides perhaps the best one-volume introduction to an episode that has challenged historians for centuries. It provides not only a lucid and engrossing narrative but also satisfying explanations that seamlessly interweave the best of modern scholarship."--David Thomas Konig, editor of Devising Liberty: Preserving and Creating Freedom in the New American Republic"Hoffer writes with a rare lucidity and vividness, and with a rare compassion as well. He makes the actors in this perplexing drama as comprehensible as they are ever likely to be."--Michael Zuckerman, author of Almost Chosen People and Peaceable Kingdoms