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Author: John Demos
Genre: Nonfiction, History
Rating: **** (4 Stars)
Summary:
John Demos is a professor and scholar of history. The Enemy Within is “the end product of an almost half-century engagement with witchcraft study” dating back to a term paper he wrote as a grad student in 1960. Demos observes that “witch hunt” is a widely used metaphor in today’s world, and sets out to compare and contrast modern metaphorical witch hunts with the literal witch hunts of the past. He begins with the Roman persecution of Christians in the 2nd century A.D., continuing up to the Salem witch trials in 17th century Massachusetts. Demos notes consistent patterns in events leading to accusations, people who were accused, and how witch-hunts sometimes spiral out of control as the accused name others in attempts to save their own lives.
