
Such a claim goes far beyond the argument, advanced mainly by anthropologists, that European, colonial American, African, and Native American witchcraft beliefs share common elements. By identifying her subject as the witches of the Atlantic world, Breslaw proposes that witchcraft should be considered in a transregional, global perspective. The second distinctive feature of Breslaw's anthology, which should be of particular interest to the readers of this journal, is its geographical scope. Breslaw is attentive to this need, although some of her primary source documents, most notably Reginald Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), receive only passing references in the selections by scholars. The challenge for the editor who arranges an anthology like this is to coordinate the two very different types of sources. The advantage of including both types of sources is mainly pedagogical: it gives students a sampling of original documents and treatises while at the same time offering them examples of how scholars have used those materials in their work. First, it combines primary and secondary sources, a somewhat unusual editorial approach first used in this field by William Monter in European Witchcraft (New York, 1969). The proliferation of literature on the subject of witchcraft has encouraged the publication of numerous anthologies of scholarly articles. New York and London: New York University Press, 2000. Witches of the Atlantic World: A Historical Reader and Primary Sourcebook. In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:
