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Magic and Superstition in Europe

A Concise History from Antiquity to the Present

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Magic and Superstition in Europe

By: Michael D. Bailey
Narrated by: 5395 MEDIA LLC
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About this listen

The only comprehensive, single-volume survey of magic available, this compelling book traces the history of magic, witchcraft, and superstitious practices such as popular spells or charms from antiquity to the present day.

Focusing especially on Europe in the medieval and early modern eras, Michael Bailey also explores the ancient Near East, classical Greece and Rome, and the spread of magical systems, particularly modern witchcraft or Wicca, from Europe to the United States. He examines how magic and superstition have been defined in various historical eras and how these constructions have changed over time. He considers the ways in which specific categories of magic have been condemned, and how those identified as magicians or witches have been persecuted and prosecuted in various societies.

Although conceptions of magic have changed over time, the author shows how magic has almost always served as a boundary marker separating socially acceptable actions from illicit ones, and more generally the known and understood from the unknown and occult.

©2007 Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (P)2016 Redwood Audiobooks Europe Occult Spirituality Witchcraft Magic Users

Critic Reviews

"A sweeping, broadly accessible account of magic, religion, and 'superstition' over the past two thousand years. This book deserves to be widely read." (H. C. Erik Midelfort, University of Virginia)
"Bailey's style of writing is captivating and the results of his archival research are impressive." (Svitlana P. Kukharenko, University of Alberta)
"An ambitious survey of the history of magic from the ancient world to the modern West… shows admirable command and understanding of a wide range of material." ( The Catholic Historical Review)

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Awful, awful narration

I have no idea if the book was good or not, I assume it probably was, but I couldn’t bear to listen to the narrator. It was like listening to the kid in high school that the teacher would make read out loud who should just have been left alone in the corner and quietly helped later on. Did they not audition people for the job? Unbearable. But as a positive, maybe I can get a job narrating audio books. It’s given me hope.

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