The Day of St. Anthony's Fire

by John G. Fuller

This is the strange, true, almost incredible story of a small French village where in '51 hundreds of townspeople went mad on a single night. Many of the most highly regarded citizens leaped from windows or jumped into the Rhone, screaming that their heads were made of copper, their bodies wrapped in snakes, their limbs swollen to gigantic size or shrunken to tiny appendages. Others ran through the streets, claiming to be chased by "bandits with donkey ears", by tigers, lions & other terrifying apparitions. Animals went berserk. Dogs ripped bark from trees until their teeth fell out. Cats dragged themselves along the floor in grotesque contortions. Ducks strutted like penguins. Villagers & animals died right & left.
Bit by bit, the story behind the tragedy in Pont-St-Esprit--a tiny Provencial village of twisted streets that looks much today as it did in the Middle Ages--unfolded to doctors & toxcologists. That story, one of the most bizarre in modern medical history, is movingly recounted in The Day of St. Anthony's Fire.
Throughout the Middle Ages & during other times in history, similar hallucinatory outbreaks occurred. They were called St. Anthony's Fire because it was believed that only prayers to the saint could hold the disease in check.
Even modern medicine could find no way to check the disease. Drugs failed to bring even temporary relief. Hundreds in the village suffered for weeks, with total agonizing insomnia, never knowing when they might once more suddenly go berserk.
The cause of St. Anthony's Fire was known since early history to be ergot, a mold found on rye grain that at rare times inexplicably became posionous enough to create monstrous hallucinations & death. In '51 little significance was attached to the fact that the base of ergot was lysergic acid, also the base for LSD, a drug just coming to the attention of scientists at the time--a drug so powerful that one eye-dropperful could cause as many as 5000 people to hallucinate for hours. At this point, the story becomes a vividly absorbing medical detective story demonstrating the possibility that a strange, spontaneous form of LSD might have caused the human tragedy that came to the hapless villagers of Pont-St-Esprit.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medicine, Medical, France, Science, True Crime

278 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

John Grant Fuller, Jr. (1913 - 1990) was a New England-based American author of several non-fiction books and newspaper articles, mainly focusing on the theme of extra-terrestrials and the supernatural. For many years he wrote a regular column for the Saturday Review magazine, called "Trade Winds". His three most famous books were The Ghost of Flight 401, Incident at Exeter, and The Interrupted Journey.
The Ghost of Flight 401 was based on the tragic Eastern Air Lines airplane crash in December 1972, and the alleged supernatural events which followed; it was eventually turned into a popular 1978 made-for-television movie.
Incident at Exeter concerned a series of well-publicized UFO sightings in and around the town of Exeter, New Hampshire in the fall of 1965 (see the Exeter incident). Fuller personally investigated the sightings and interviewed many of the eyewitnesses, he also claimed to have seen a UFO himself during his investigation.
The Interrupted Journey tells the story of the Betty and Barney Hill abduction. The Hills were a married couple who claimed to have been abducted in 1961 by the occupants of a UFO in the White Mountains of New Hampshire while returning home from a vacation. The book was the first to seriously claim that competent, reliable witnesses were being abducted by UFOs for medical and scientific experiments. The book remains one of the most influential in UFO history; and has been hotly debated since its publication. Like The Ghost of Flight 401, The Interrupted Journey was also turned into a made-for-television movie in 1975.
Fuller wrote The Great Soul Trial (1969) about the disappearance of Arizona Miner James Kidd and the later trial regarding his will, which left his fortune to anyone who could prove the existence of the human soul. The book was published prior to the final resolution of the case in 1971.
John was also married to a NorthWest flight Attendant who was the researcher mentioned in his book "Ghost of Flight 401" His book We Almost Lost Detroit deals with a serious accident at the Fermi nuclear power plant near Detroit. The book title was later the title of a song by Gil Scott-Heron on the No Nukes live album recorded by the Musicians United for Safe Energy.
He wrote two plays -- The Pink Elephant, which opened in 1953, and Love Me Little, which opened in 1958, both on Broadway.
His most important book was the fictional novel We Almost Lost Detroit. There is a song by Gil Scott-Heron, same title.
Fuller died of lung cancer in 1990.

Reviews

[Joe Krakovsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had the whole town gone mad? People were wracked with pain and laid in bed sobbing for days on end. Others could not sleep for days either. Some were cold and then sweating like mad. One woman did not recognize her baby. Another climbed a dung hill naked. Some saw tigers and feared for their life. There were cases of gangrene and others with massive feats of strength. One thought he could fly. Animals were dying, and so were people. The medieval manuscripts were studied for hints of medical advice and treatments, but it was all in vain. The year was 1951.

It had been a wet season and ergot, a fungus, had grown on rye. Somehow this contaminated rye had been mixed in with the wheat, which went to the mill and was processed. A private monopoly, The Union Meuniere, shipped the wheat to the various bakers throughout France. In the small town of Pont-Saint-Esprit, the populace loved their fresh bread with every meal, so they visited the local baker like they did every day. Unbeknown to them, they were about to be poisoned by an alkaloid produced by the ergot.

The poor village doctor, in a day when they still made house calls, had not the slightest idea of the sickness for it seemed every patient had different symptoms. He and two other doctors were awake for over 200 hours trying to treat patients. One man counted the same six window panes over and over again, day and night, for days on end. One man thought he could fly so he jumped out the window and broke both legs, yet he ran some 50 meters before he was caught and restrained. People went mad. One exhibited such strength that he ripped off seven straight jackets in a row. When some fourteen men finally put a double layer of jacket on him he chewed through leather straps though all his teeth were broken.

None of the medical experts could offer any advice on treatments for they had no idea what they were dealing with. In frustration ancient manuscripts were studied which confirmed the suspicions. Ergot was the culprit.

Though synthesized ergot is used for medical treatments, what affected the town was a highly potent natural form of alkaloid which once in the body degraded without a trace within minutes, yet the damage was done. The original strength of the poison was beyond believe of the medical experts and toxicologists who refused to believe ergot was responsible.

This older book may be hard to find, but anyone interested in medical topics would be fascinated by the events which still today seem the stuff of fiction.

My only complain is that there were many phrases and official titles which were in French. I could not Google translate as I read along.

My other complaint has nothing to do with the author's work, but rather the system of so-called justice in the free world. The lawyers for the guilty party, the Union Meuniere, were as ruthless as those who defended the United States Radium Corporation in the case of "The Radium Girls."

You really should check this book out.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and Truly Terrifying.

I was sitting around the supper table with my family discussing theories about the Salem Witch Trials. The ergot theory was put forward, and I dismissed it, largely because of the scale: hundreds of people accused, tortured, and tried over more than a year, but also because the initial accusers would roll around on the floor in seeming fits but immediately recover, and none of them suffered anything like an actual injury during those supposed fits. Then the Spouse mentions that "French town, you know, in that book..."

I did not know. I had never previously heard of the book nor the incident it describes in well-researched, well-documented, and well-communicated detail. In August of 1951 some three hundred people in and around Pont-Saint-Esprit in Provence, France were poisoned. It was a horrible accident that killed five people, hospitalized more than a hundred, and caused many to suffer lasting debilitation.

As a medical mystery, it is enthralling. All the local GPs as well as a large number of treating physicians from the nearest largest cities agreed they were seeing an event out of history: a mass poisoning due to ergot. They had to look in history books to get treatment ideas.

Then there's the legal mystery: who or what will be blamed and have to pay? The investigators had quickly found the suspect flour, but then there were years of examining the evidence. The police couldn't accept the ergot theory because the volatile alkaloids disappeared too quickly and too completely. There was literally no evidence. The legal wrangling that followed lasted a decade.

It's a fascinating book for those interested in medical or historical mysteries. Fuller is thorough in his recounting, but never boring. Since I didn't have Truly Terrifying, I took advantage of that black dust jacket for Paint it Black.

Library copy

[Jill H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is hard to rate for the following reasons:

1. The first half is absolutely intriguing as it tells the true story of the outbreak of "St. Anthony's Fire" in a small French village in the Midi. It is 1952, and people are going about their daily business which always includes a visit to the boulanger to purchase their daily fresh loaf of bread. Shortly thereafter, part of the population begins to present strange symptoms...giddiness, flashing lights, abdominal pain. And that is just the beginning of their illness. Soon individuals are running through the streets in terror being chased by invisible demons, babbling hallucinating, screaming, trying to throw themselves out of windows or in the river, and recognizing no one. Some pet animals are dying outright.The local doctors are totally in the dark about what is causing this horrible outbreak which has only struck some of the people of the village. I would rate this section as four stars.

2. The second half of the book is dedicated to the legal battles that arose once fingers were pointed as those thought responsible for the illness which killed eight and left the survivors with permanent disabilities. This is where the book breaks down IMHO. It becomes repetitive as the cases and identifying the cause of the illness drags on for over 10 years. In-fighting among the government, the justice department, physicians, and the lawyers for the afflicted is covered in excruciating detail and had me flipping pages. This section took my rating down to a 2.5, rounded to a three.

I will leave the cause of the horrible outbreak unspoken but it certainly would have been recognized in the late 60's/early 70's although to this day, the courts of France still have not legally determined the cause. It also will be helpful to have some French since many of the letters and documents are not translated into English,

[Parker F · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the true account of how in 1951 the people of a French village were driven mad by ergot-infected bread, but it is mostly about the maddening bureaucracy and legal processes by which the victims suffered before reaching a financial settlement. Thus, while the book might seem to be about the most interesting topic in the history of the world, the author chose to focus more on the less interesting machinations of the French Millers' Union and Health Department. It is like a GODZILLA movie that spends fifteen minutes on the monster attack and two hours on the long, unheralded struggle between a coalition of those whose cars were crushed and their auto insurance companies about the fine points of their policies. Perhaps this topic should be re-explored by a contemporary author with the benefit of fifty more years of scientific knowledge and less of a fixation on legal tedium, as a town driven mad by bread tainted with naturally occurring LSD is the MOST INTERESTING POSSIBLE SUBJECT IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting book about the mysterious 'accursed bread' that caused hallucinations, disabilities, suicidal thoughts, and ultimately death in the tiny French village of Pont-Saint-Espirit in August of 1951. Fuller is a journalist who decided to take up the story after seeing a small newspaper article on the mass poisoning. He traveled to France and interviewed some of the victims and read over all of the official reports, medical reports, and court cases. The legal proceedings of the case are as heart-breaking as the story of the actual poisoning itself. Of the blamed causes of the poisoning was mercury-based poison (in the end) and historical ergotism (in the beginning). Fuller delves into the rare historical appearances of ergotism, a mass poison event which suddenly strikes its victims with deep psychological terrors, insomnia that lasts weeks, convulsions, endless chattering, and the overwhelming desire to jump out of windows. As the story goes on, Fuller re-counts the discovery of the drug LSD by two Swiss scientists but which was too new a drug to be taken seriously in 1951 by the French police. As time went on, it seems more and more likely that what caused the mass poisoning was a high dosage of LSD in the flour used in the bread-making in Pont-Saint-Espirit, which appears in nature in rare cases of ergot on rye.

Very interesting book, not only for its medical points, but also for its glimpse at the French legal system, and the French government's flour monopoly in the mid-20th century.

[Travis Timmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half to two-thirds of this book are sensational--about the infamous 1951 case ergotism in the tiny provencal French village of Pont-St.-Esprit. I'd heard of this incident, but the fuller account was even wilder than I imagined.

However, the last half to one-third of the book was a tedious account of the legal case to bring justice to the victims in the village. I skimmed through it heavily. Perhaps it was simply that style of documenting a legal case from the late 1960s is dull as can be now in 2021, but I don't doubt that it could have been made much more interesting even in an abbreviated form. Additionally, Fuller's writing on LSD is (understandably!) so dated, yet indicative of a certain intellectual posture toward drugs (a boatload of unexamined "priors" etc.) that comes off as arrogant.

Still, despite these reservations, this book is worth reading--the strange tale, alone, at its heart, is worth your attention.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. We all love bread - I love rye bread. But there are hazards. Read on.

[Linny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am re-reading this book. This is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. Fuller tells of an event that seems like it is coming from the dark ages, but happened just before I was born in 1951 in France. This is not a very remote event, yet it seems like it is very remote, since it is nearly incomprehensible that an event like this could even happen in modern times.

The writing method is nonfiction yet in a riveting manner. I was never bored for one second when I read this book the first time, so I am going to read it again for pleasure (the subject is not pleasurable, but the act of reading about it is.)

[Black Tea Lady ☕️📚 · Rating 4 out of 5]

En un pueblo al norte de Francia llamado Pont-Saint Espirit hubo un omen previo a los hechos trágicos. A La estatua de La Virgen de Notre Dame de la Bache se le había caído el brazo izquierdo casi por completo. El incidente se consideró de mal agüero y causó temor. El pueblo tiene una larga historia de guerras, saqueos y muertes y acababan de salir de la Segunda Guerra Mundial apenas con vida ya que los bombardeos los alcanzaron en diversas ocasiones. Ésto es lo que sucedió...
En Julio de 1951 saldrían de la estación de Chauvigny, 10 sacos con 100 kilos de harina para ser distruibuida en la región de Pont-Saint Espirit. La harina llega en las vísperas de la festividad de Fete du Premier. La empresa Union Meuniére se encargaría de la distribución de ésta harina entre los panaderos de la región. El primer panadero en recibir ésta harina notó un tono grisáceo y una textura ólea y pegajosa, decidió mezclarla con las sobras de su harina para mejorar la consistencia. Las primeras hogazas de pan se vendieron a la mañana siguiente rápidamente.
Los primeros síntomas empezaron a manifestarse a las pocas horas de ingerir el pan. Hubo diarrea de aguda a grave, cólicos violéntos y erupciones cutáneas e insomnio.
La gente compartió el pan con sus mascotas que empezaron a mostrar los primeros síntomas de envenenamiento pero presentaron otro síntoma más que fueron las alucinaciones. Corrían, aullaban, chillaban, gruñían y terminaban lástimandose de muerte con golpes, comiendo piedras, metales u otros. La gente empeoraba poco después de la muerte de sus animales. Hipotermia, arritmia, escalofríos, náuseas, diarrea, vértigo y las primeras alucionaciones visuales y auditivas comenzaron a surgir. Ojos vidriosos, insomnia, explosiones de energía o euforia e histeria en algunos casos.
Las alucinaciones pasaron de momentos agradables hasta escenas sacadas del Infierno de Dante. Demonios y bolas de fuego nocturnas, tigres y techos sangrantes hasta deseos suicidas de tirarse desde la ventana o lugares altos con deseos de volar. 48 horas después, los síntomas aumentaron, la sudoración excesiva dejaba un olor rancio a ratón muerto u orina añeja en las sábanas de los enfermos. Las primeras víctimas murieron de falla cardiaca, ya que el ritmo y la presión sanguínea cambiaba constantemente. La gente llegó hasta las 200 hrs sin poder dormir.
El Ergotismo o Cornezuelo del Centeno fue el causante de ésta epidemia pero se le llamó entre la gente como El Mal del Quemado o El Fuego de San Antonio que fue descrito en libros de medicina de la Edad Media. Se creía que rezando a San Antonio, la sensación de fuego en las extremidades y el estómago disminuían. Pueblos enteros cayeron en la más intensa y aterradora locura que llevó a la gente al caos en las calles y miles se volvieron psicóticos en aquél entonces.
En Agosto 24 de 1951 llegó L´Éclosion Brutale y con ésto sobre vino una histeria masiva ya que todos los enfermos al mismo tiempo comenzaron a alucinar y a gritar constantemente. Cada uno estaba metido en su propia alucinación, muchos no se dieron cuenta de los gritos del vecino o de lo que alucinaban en la cama de al lado. La histeria masiva surgió en los familiares que no estaba enfermos para poder controlarlos.
Los síntomas del envenenamiento por Ergotismo incluyen: contracciones musculares violentas, sensación de quemarse en las extremidades, cuerpo tembloroso, contracciones espasmódicas, calambres, gangrena, sangrados vaginales severos o abortos en mujeres, acidéz y reflujo estomacal, irritación cutánea, insomnio, delirios, alucinaciones auditivas y visuales, pensamientos obsesivos y deseos suicidas con histeria.
Las investigaciones policiacas los llevaron hasta el Molino Maillet en donde descubrieron que ante la baja producción de trigo y para satisfacer la demanda, se molió junto con los granos buenos, los restos de granos al fondo de los silos. Éstos granos estaban entre humedad, polillas y pelos de ratas entre otros elementos como lo viejo y sucio de los engranes del molino lo que pudo crear ésta masa venenosa. El ergot prolifera en condiciones de humedad y forma manchas o parches en la cebada. Se detuvieron a dos personas bajo los cargos de fraude alimenticio, transporte inapropiado del grano, infracción especial de legislación hacia el grano y homicidio involuntario y lesiones.
Los laboratorios franceses y suizos investigaron los hechos, en los órganos de la gente muerta y sus animales se encontraron restos de ergot y mercurio. Se estaban llevando acabo investigaciones sobre alcaloides. El LSD-25 surgió de experimentos de la semilla de la planta Morning Glory y tenía síntomas parecidos al Ergot, lo que se encontró es que el mercurio pudo aumentar la potencia del alcaloide. El Mercurio se usaba en un fungicida llamado Panogen y al añadirlo a los sacos en dónde se transportó el grano, éste no se mezcló bien y se pegó a las manchas del hongo de ergot incrementando la potencia haciéndolo altamente venenoso. Pasaron 10 años del incidente y los sobrevivientes quedaron muy dañados del ataque de ergot, algunos incapacitados de por vida y muchos con cuentas enormes en hospitales y pendientes de ser indemnizados.
Un libro muy completo e interesante, éste hecho salió en el periódico de NY Times y causó gran sorpresa que una enfermedada de la Edad Media surgiera con tal furia en pleno siglo XX. Las drogas alucinógenas como con todas las drogas terminan liberando una serie de pasiones que no necesariamente queremos que sean liberadas. Éste fue un episodio de envenenamiento colectivo con consecuencia catrastróficas, lo que indica que hay elementos en éste mundo que desconocemos y que hasta un simple pan puede matarnos. Excelente recomendación de parte de mi hermana.

[Jane Wiewora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read many years ago.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was about 35.

I won't go into the storyline because others have done that and I don't want to ruin the suspense for people who have not actually read it yet.

Absolutely one of the most fascinating and riveting books I have ever read in my life.

The last third of the book where he talks about the French government getting involved was not as interesting.

I would say this is one of the 3 best nonfiction books I have
ever read in my life and I have read very many.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story about an entire village poisoned with ergot-tainted rye flour, causing hallucinations, deaths, and other related symptoms as one might see in high doses of LSD, ergot being similar or relative to the making of LSD. I've read this book a few times but not recently.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not especially interested in toxicology or French law, but this was still a fascinating read. It's written like a novel which helps with some of the more scientific and legal aspects of the narrative. I find myself wanting to learn more about ergot poisoning.

Since Fuller is American and the events take place in southern France, there are some weird language bits. He often leaves terms and even whole phrases in the original French without any translation, although sometimes you can guess the meaning by context clues. This makes a bit more sense after reading the epilogue, where he explains some of the difficulties he faced with interpreting. And of course there are some things that can't be translated. But some footnotes or something would have been nice. I do speak a little French but I still ended up having Google Translate open next to me for a good portion of the reading.

[Andrew Weitzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHAT I EXPECTED: lol bro everyone was tripping BALLS that one time remember that? That was crazy bro what a good time in retrospect gonna tell my grandkids about it

WHAT I GOT: Innocent people having their lives ruined through pure chance; seizures, gangrene, compulsions to suicide, inability to discern what is real and what is a delusion, intractable insomnia... this ergotism outbreak sounded unreasonably awful, human suffering beyond all comprehension. Add to that the sadly typical bureaucracy crushing the victims even worse, and a police force choosing a conclusion at the start and tailoring the evidence to that effect. Awful, all of it.

Very good book though. Wish it wasn't so hard find (I paid $30 for my copy. Ouch).

[Oliver Samuels · Rating 5 out of 5]

St. Anthony's Fire was a recurring plague of the Middle Ages where entire villages would inexplicably go stark, raving mad. Victims would hallucinate, flee from imaginary terrors and sometimes jump to their deaths.

The Day of St. Anthony's Fire tells the fascinating, true story of the largest modern outbreak of this plague, which occurred in a small village in France in 1951. The culprit, a parasitic fungus which attacks rye, barely and other grains produces symptoms similar to LSD when ingested.

Well written and fast paced, this book captures both the dignity of the victims as well as the diagnostic confusion which ensued.

[Octavio Alvarez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had 5 star content! It was so intriguing to see what happened in that town and the experiences people had. Such a sad tragedy. However, I found the writer to be extremely repetitive. It was like a broken record repeating the same points over and over. Also, there should be no reason to not translate everything. The random French words and French letters was quite the nuisance. The legal battles were interesting, but the amount of detail given to these proceedings was just too much. It is sad everything the town went through and I feel the author did well sharing their struggles.

[Jim Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read.

[Bob Koelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating depiction of how a public health emergency was dealt with in France in the 1950s.

[Jon Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

U

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was terrifying, I loved it.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine if the Yippies at the '68 Democratic convention in Chicago had succeded in dosing the water supply of the city of Chicago (well, just imagine. The chemical is water soluble but (in water) does not maintain its molecular integrity, so it was a fail to begin with)- and you might end up with a scene like this- a whole town dosed to the gills and acting accordingly, unpredictably. One substance which DOES maintain the molecular integrity of lysergic acid is rye grain (where it orginates, in the ergot fungus)... A whole batch of rye which was ergot-infected made it into and through the mills in a southern French town, and got baked into the daily bread, and that's what happened... A scandal for the Miller's Union, which did a poor inspection job, and a coverup, and the detective work leads experts to - who else? Dr. Hofmann, who identifies the substance correctly. Excellent read, a great detective story, and maybe, a warning of what can happen when cats leap out of bags.

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read some of Fuller's books, I picked this one up at the sale table of the Amarynth Bookstore in Evanston, Illinois during a break from work.

The story is basically this: In 1951 a rural region of France was inflicted with mass insanity. A medical investigation followed and it was discovered that the region depended on rye flour for its breads. The flour had become wet, gone moldy and produced the argot lysergic acid which caused the symptoms. Unlike its derivative LSD, however, rye mold doesn't just cause hallucination, it is also painful and, in high enough dosage, deadly.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fascinating story of a village gone mad. Also the only good book John G Fuller ever wrote.

I read this and loved it, then went looking for more from the author. Everything else seemed to be the trashiest sort of UFO / ghost story disguised as reportage.

It seriously made me reconsider this novel, which I had believed to be essentially historical. Based on the rest of his work, you at least have to be skeptical.

In spite of all that, it's in my top twenty.

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me this book was unputdownable! A totally intriguing account of true events masterfully recounted with attention to detail. It was also a fascinating account of life in a rural French village in the 1950s and so it felt almost like a historical account. The incident was one that baffled people at the time and still has no ultimate explanation so it left me with a sense of something unresolved but that didn't stop my enjoyment of the book.

[Josephine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting! I don't like it quite as much as the first time around, four years ago--the 'Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce' second portion of the book drags a bit, compared to the description of what must have been a nightmare for the villagers!

I still wonder why this tainted wheat didn't show up elsewhere....shrug. Maybe it just didn't!

[Jenn Crowley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating story about the devastating effects that Ergot poisoning had in the small French village of Pont-Saint-Espirit in 1951. I read this as a teenager and strongly believe that the maddening effects of this natural LSD fueled my entirely irrational fear of zombies.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a teenager. Very interesting, and made me think that perhaps ergot poisoning was responsible for a lot of the "witchcraft" incidents throughout history.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

it kinda bored me after about 60 pages. i think this could have been a much shorter book.
but other people may like it.

[Samuel Moss · Rating 2 out of 5]

To narrative. Repeats himself a lot, seemingly to boost the thickness of the book.

[Voracious · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating.