Michael D. Bailey is assistant professor of history at Iowa State University.

Michael Bailey has written a sweeping, broadly accessible account of magic, religion, and 'superstition' over the past two thousand years. He has not only read deeply but also pondered the way in which our traditions have stigmatized especially those beliefs and practices that seem most closely threatening to us. This book deserves to be widely read.

• Chapter 1 Introduction: Roots in the Ancient WorldChapter 2 The Rise of Christianity and Early Medieval Europe to the Year 1000Chapter 3 Varieties of Magic in the High and Late Middle Ages, 1000-1500Chapter 4 The Medieval Condemnation of Magic, 1000-1500Chapter 5 Witchcraft and Witch-Hunting in the Early Modern Period, 1500-1800Chapter 6 From Renaissance to Enlightenment, 1450-1800Chapter 7 Magic in the Modern West from 1800

Michael D. Bailey is assistant professor of history at Iowa State University.

Michael Bailey has written a sweeping, broadly accessible account of magic, religion, and 'superstition' over the past two thousand years. He has not only read deeply but also pondered the way in which our traditions have stigmatized especially those beliefs and practices that seem most closely threatening to us. This book deserves to be widely read.

• Chapter 1 Introduction: Roots in the Ancient WorldChapter 2 The Rise of Christianity and Early Medieval Europe to the Year 1000Chapter 3 Varieties of Magic in the High and Late Middle Ages, 1000-1500Chapter 4 The Medieval Condemnation of Magic, 1000-1500Chapter 5 Witchcraft and Witch-Hunting in the Early Modern Period, 1500-1800Chapter 6 From Renaissance to Enlightenment, 1450-1800Chapter 7 Magic in the Modern West from 1800

Michael D. Bailey is assistant professor of history at Iowa State University.

Michael Bailey has written a sweeping, broadly accessible account of magic, religion, and 'superstition' over the past two thousand years. He has not only read deeply but also pondered the way in which our traditions have stigmatized especially those beliefs and practices that seem most closely threatening to us. This book deserves to be widely read.

• Chapter 1 Introduction: Roots in the Ancient WorldChapter 2 The Rise of Christianity and Early Medieval Europe to the Year 1000Chapter 3 Varieties of Magic in the High and Late Middle Ages, 1000-1500Chapter 4 The Medieval Condemnation of Magic, 1000-1500Chapter 5 Witchcraft and Witch-Hunting in the Early Modern Period, 1500-1800Chapter 6 From Renaissance to Enlightenment, 1450-1800Chapter 7 Magic in the Modern West from 1800