Diane Rapaport

Although this seemed to be a work of general nonfiction, it read like an academic work. To wit: dull. The stories were well-researched but tedious to get through. The author's strength is her interest and knowledge, not her writing.

A series of fascinating and often funny stories taken from court records during the colonial period. It just goes to show that there's nothing new under the sun -- drunkenness, adultery, public brawls and lawsuits seem to have been just as common then as they are now. Anybody who thinks the Puritans were just stuffy people in black and white clothes who never did anything fun should think again. I really enjoyed this.

A quick fun read for anyone interested in Colonial History from a "True-Crime" point of view. Writing is accessible, as are the excerpts used to illustrate the stories in the words of the participants themselves.