In this engrossing book, the author of the classic work The Pursuit of the Millennium investigates the origins of apocalyptic faith - the belief in a perfect future, when the forces of good are victorious over the forces of evil. Norman Cohn takes us back two thousand years to the world views of anc[...]
The Middle Ages inherited a tradition of prophesy which, during those centuries, took on fresh vitality. This tradition foretold a millennium in which the world would be inhabited by happy people. This book tells the story of those millenarian fanaticism and points to their persistence today.[...]
Traces popular beliefs about witches to their origins, and shows how the great witch-hunt erupted, when thousands of innocent people were tortured and burned alive in the 16th and 17th centuries. Norman Cohn is the author of "The Pursuit of the Millennium" and "Warrant for Genocide".[...]