Christin R. (raksha38) reviewed Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca And Contemporary Paganism in America (The Pagan Studies Series) on + 203 more book reviews
The Triumph of the Moon for the US! Clifton states right off that he wants to chronicle the establishment of Wicca (with a short look at other related Pagan religions) in America much like Hutton did in Triumph and I think he does a good job. Its really interesting to see how things we take for granted as aspects of Wicca, such as characterizing it as a nature religion and womens prominence, werent necessarily part of it to begin with but became so when it interacted with certain social trends and movements going on in particular times in Americas past. This book relies much more on written documents, unlike Huttons which focused much more on interviews and personal correspondences with people, just because Wicca was brought to America in writing and was disseminated far more often that way than it had been in Britain at the time.
Another thing I liked about this book is that while it is a serious, objective academic study, the author is a Pagan himself and has been in the community for over 30 years. Although there are a few notable exceptions (like Hutton), Ive just seen such unbelievable crap from academic outsiders that I frankly wouldnt have bothered to read this if I didnt know Clifton was One Of Us. Unfair perhaps, but I just have no patience for that random BS anymore. Clifton gets it, though.
Another thing I liked about this book is that while it is a serious, objective academic study, the author is a Pagan himself and has been in the community for over 30 years. Although there are a few notable exceptions (like Hutton), Ive just seen such unbelievable crap from academic outsiders that I frankly wouldnt have bothered to read this if I didnt know Clifton was One Of Us. Unfair perhaps, but I just have no patience for that random BS anymore. Clifton gets it, though.
