Alfred C. Haddon (1855 – 1940) was an influential British anthropologist and ethnologist. His other works include The Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits, Head-hunters, Black, White and Brown, Evolution in Art, The Study of Man, The Races of Man, The Wanderings of People. He contributed to the Encyclopaedia Britannica and the Dictionary of National Biography. Dr. Haddon was president of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as the Cambridge Antiquarian Society.

This novella gives details on the descriptions and basics of magic and fetishism, both using his own methods for categorizing and mentioning classifications of other in the cultural anthropology field. Sections include: Contagious Magic, Homoeopathic Magic, Magical Power of Names and Words, Talismans and Amulets, Divination, and the Psychology of Magical Practices. This book is better used as a primer rather than for in depth specifics of magical workings and thought.

This book was originally published in 1906.