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Through its extensive use of primary source materials and provision of essential accompanying explanations, this book places readers into the context of late 17th-century Salem society to shed light on one of the darkest events in American history -- the Salem witch trials.* Examines the individual cases of many of the victims of the more than year-long Salem witch trials episode* Clarifies the historical context of the belief systems and culture of 17th-century Massachusetts to enable modern readers to grasp how such an unbelievable series of events could have happened in that specific era* Introduces contemporary audiences to the meaning of the archaic language and ideas of the late 1600s as used in the primary documents