This book was checked out from our local library and brought home to me by my wife. I glad she had the foresight to do so. The Witches Salem, 1692, is a retelling of a uniquely American blend of religion and paranoia, “a little story that becomes a big one, much more than our national campfire story, the gothic, genie-releasing crack-up on the way to the Constitution.” The trials began when a number of Salem Village girls claimed to be tormented by the devil and accused local men and women of being wizards and witches. The people of Salem Village lived in isolation threatened by attacks from native American tribes, they had had their charter revoked and were in economic conflict with nearby Salem Town. There was an deeply inbred fear of strangers coupled with a resentment within the village habitants, towards each other. By summer the Salem jail had filled with witches of both genders and all ages, from a toddler to a grandmother. The hysteria radiated outward, snaring other communities, such as Andover and Ipswich. What I found distressing about the account of the witch trials was that highly educated (for their time) men were so readily willing to accept highly contradicting and fanciful "tales" of adolescent girls. But as has been seen in modern times such "witch trials" can occur regardless of how "advanced" we think we have become. I really enjoyed this book. It's full of information, maybe a little to much for some, but I love having as many facts as I can about something I find incredibly interesting. As Schiff moves into the trials and convictions, her narrative does slow down, and its language tightens beneath an excess of detail , but Schiff regains her stride in the book’s conclusion, where she analyzes the trials’ aftermath, and gives a ”what became of them" account of some of the principal people involved in the trials. In any case this is a great read and I recommend it to anyone interested in the Salem 1692 events.