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"Bryan Le Beau’s The Story of the Salem Witchcraft Trials is a thoughtful, comprehensive account of an event that continues to fascinate both historians and the general public. Situating his narrative in a global context, Le Beau offers readers a judicious synthesis of the best interpretations of Salem’s witchcraft scare. Even as he gives readers the "big picture," he nevertheless refuses to forget the importance of the individuals who made the decisions that led to Salem’s conflict with "the Devil." Narrative history at its best, The Story of the Salem Witchcraft Trials, offers us a fascinating, lively overview of the Salem experience."

Sheila Skemp Clare, Marquette Professor of American History Emerita. University of Mississippi.

"Bryan Le Beau’s exploration of the Salem Witch-Hunt is the most accessible book on the subject aimed at general audiences and students alike. Le Beau deftly incorporates the findings and conclusions reached in the most recent scholarship and puts the hysteria that gripped eastern Massachusetts in 1692 and 1692 into a broader context that makes this event more than a simple eruption of medievalism in early Anglo-America. The Story of the Salem Witch Trials serves as an excellent gateway leading into a complex time and place in American history that deserves sustained analysis."

John Howard Smith, Professor of History, Texas A & M University-Commerce

"The third edition of the Bryan Le Beau’s book should serve as a most useful guidebook and impartial arbiter of the voluminous literature and conflicting theories surrounding the Salem Witch Trials. Le Beau has done us all a great service by keeping abreast of the scads of new research that has been done over the past decade or so. He has also updated the references to be compatible with the latest and most comprehensive collection of primary documents. Overall, his contextual approach—giving us the necessary European and Colonial backgrounds—is most welcome. His expertise in American religious history makes his preceptive analysis all the most persuasive."

Elijah Siegler, Professor of Religious Studies, College of Charleston

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