The Devil's Best Trick

Randall Sullivan

$39.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Grove Press
07 January 2025

True crime; History of religion; Satanism & demonology; Other Film, TV & Media

How we explain the evils of the world - and the darkest parts of ourselves - has preoccupied humans throughout history.

In The Devil's Best Trick, Randall Sullivan investigates historical, religious and cultural conceptions of evil, from Biblical times to European witch hunts to the devil-worshipping 'Black Mass' ceremony. He travels to Mexico to participate in the 'Hour of the Witches' - an annual ceremony in which hundreds of people congregate in the jungle south of Vera Cruz to negotiate terms with El Diablo. He takes us through the most famous exorcism in American history. And he delivers original reporting on the shocking story of a small town in Texas that, in 1988, unravelled into paranoia and panic after a seventeen-year-old boy was found hanging from a tree and rumours about Satanic worship and cults flourished.

Nimble and expertly researched, The Devil's Best Trick brilliantly melds cultural and historical commentary with a suspenseful true-crime narrative. Randall Sullivan, whose reportage and narrative skill has been called 'extraordinary' and 'enthralling' by Rolling Stone, takes on a bold task in this book that is both biography of the Devil and a look at how evil manifests in the world.

By: Randall Sullivan
Imprint: Grove Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: Main
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 162mm, Spine: 32mm
Weight: 557g
ISBN: 9781804710760
ISBN 10: 1804710768
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 07 January 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Randall Sullivan was a contributing editor to Rolling Stone for over twenty years. He is the author of Graveyard of the Pacific, Dead Wrong, The Price of Experience, LAbyrinth, The Miracle Detective, and Untouchable. His work has been published in, among many other places, Esquire, Outside, Men's Journal, Washington Post, and the Guardian. He lives in Oregon.

Reviews for The Devil's Best Trick

A compelling journey into the heart of darkness with an articulate, capable guide * Kirkus Reviews * A master class in the difficult art of first-person, narrative nonfiction * New York Times *