The Devil's Best Trick : Atlantic Monthly Press : 9780802119131 : 0802119131 : 27 Jun 2024 : Part true crime story, part religious and literary history, an investigation into the nature of evil and the figure of the Devil by acclaimed journalist Randall Sullivan Throughout history, humans have struggled to explain the evils of the world and the darkest parts of ourselves. The Devil's Best Trick is a unique and far-reaching investigation into evil and the myriad ways we attempt to understand it - particularly through the figure of the Devil. Sullivan's narrative moves through centuries of historical, religious, and cultural conceptions of evil and the Devil: from the Mesopotamian and Egyptian gods to the Book of Job to the New Testament to the witch hunts in Europe in the 15th through 17th centuries to the history of the devil-worshipping "Black Mass" ceremony and its depictions in 19th-century French literature. He references major literary, religious and historical figures, from the