Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewFor those libraries needing a comprehensive overview of this topic it would be a good addition to public and academic libraries. * American Reference Books Annual *
The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Witchcraft covers the history of witchcraft from 1750 BCE to the present. Entries in this historical dictionary range from a short paragraph to a page. There are liberal cross-references within the articles, although they don’t have citations. The bibliography is extensive and includes citations from twenty-first-century print sources. The main focus is Europe and North America, but there are articles covering the rest of the world. There are more entries as well as updated citations in this edition, so libraries with the first edition may want this as a replacement. Recommended for public and academic libraries. * Booklist *
Part of Scarecrow's "Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements" series, this second edition (1st ed., by Bailey, CH, Jul'04, 41-6237) has the usual arrangement of chronology, entries, and bibliography divided into subjects. Written by Durrant (Univ. of Glamorgan, Wales) and Bailey (Iowa State Univ.), the content is a conglomeration of material on ancient roots, historical European witchcraft, and demonology; similar beliefs in other cultures today (such as in the Caribbean and various African nations); and the modern religion of Witchcraft. Entries are short, with no bibliography, and include cross-references in the usual dictionary style. In the introduction, series editor Jon Woronoff seems to take a somewhat jocular attitude to the subject, assuring readers that the content is relevant and "far from hocus-pocus." With most of the entries focused on the history of western European witchcraft, this work will be of interest primarily to historians rather than practitioners or scholars of contemporary religious Witchcraft. Summing Up: Recommended. * CHOICE *
Table of ContentsEditor’s Foreword (Jon Woronoff) Acknowledgments Chronology Introduction THE DICTIONARY Bibliography About the Authors
