Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
88-047744
Dewey Edition
20
Reviews
There is probably no one alive who knows more about the lore of the Devil than Jeffrey Burton Russell.... He supplies colourful accounts of the pictures medieval folklore formed of the Evil One, and discerning sketches of the insights of poets like Dante and Milton, and novelists from Dostoevsky to Flannery O'Conner.... A first-rate survey.... Close-packed as it inevitably is, it reads easily, and each of its chapters is full of accurate and skillfully arranged information., "Fascinating. . . . A history of the Devil taken seriously, in theology, folklore, art, literature."--Village Voice, "There is probably no one alive who knows more about the lore of the Devil than Jeffrey Burton Russell. . . . He supplies colourful accounts of the pictures medieval folklore formed of the Evil One, and discerning sketches of the insights of poets like Dante and Milton, and novelists from Dostoevsky to Flannery O'Conner. . . . A first-rate survey. . . . Close-packed as it inevitably is, it reads easily, and each of its chapters is full of accurate and skillfully arranged information."--Times Literary Supplement, Russell recreates the arcane images of good and evil we all once understood perfectly well as children. From the moment the cover is lifted on this beautifully produced book, the world darkens. Russell presents story after story, using them like a descending staircase, drawing us down into archetypal memories of unending battles with the Evil One., "Russell recreates the arcane images of good and evil we all once understood perfectly well as children. From the moment the cover is lifted on this beautifully produced book, the world darkens. Russell presents story after story, using them like a descending staircase, drawing us down into archetypal memories of unending battles with the Evil One."-Bloomsbury Review, "Fascinating. . . . A history of the Devil taken seriously, in theology, folklore, art, literature."-Village Voice, "Russell recreates the arcane images of good and evil we all once understood perfectly well as children. From the moment the cover is lifted on this beautifully produced book, the world darkens. Russell presents story after story, using them like a descending staircase, drawing us down into archetypal memories of unending battles with the Evil One."--Bloomsbury Review, "There is probably no one alive who knows more about the lore of the Devil than Jeffrey Burton Russell. . . . He supplies colourful accounts of the pictures medieval folklore formed of the Evil One, and discerning sketches of the insights of poets like Dante and Milton, and novelists from Dostoevsky to Flannery O'Conner. . . . A first-rate survey. . . . Close-packed as it inevitably is, it reads easily, and each of its chapters is full of accurate and skillfully arranged information."-Times Literary Supplement
Grade From
College Graduate Student
CLASSIFICATION_METADATA
{"IsNonfiction":["Yes"],"IsOther":["No"],"IsAdult":["No"],"MuzeFormatDesc":["Trade Paperback"],"IsChildren":["No"],"Genre":["RELIGION","PHILOSOPHY"],"Topic":["Demonology & Satanism","Good & Evil","Christian Theology / Angelology & Demonology"],"IsTextBook":["Yes"],"IsFiction":["No"]}
Dewey Decimal
111.8409
Table Of Content
1. Evil 2. The Devil around the World 3. The Good Lord and the Devil 4. Christ and the Power of Evil 5. Satan and Heresy 6. Dualism and the Desert 7. The Classical Christian View 8. Lucifer Popular and Elite 9. Scholastics, Poets, and Dramatists 10. Nominalists, Mystics, and Witches 11. The Devil and the Reformers 12. High on a Throne of Royal State 13. The Disintegration of Hell 14. From Romance to Nihilism 15. The Integration of Evil 16. Auschwitz and Hiroshima 17. The Meaning of Evil Appendixes Index
Synopsis
While recounting how past generations have personified evil, Jeffrey Burton Russell deepens our understanding of the ways in which people have dealt with the enduring problem of radical evil., The Devil, Satan, Lucifer, Mephistopheles - throughout history the Prince of Darkness, the Western world's most powerful symbol of evil, has taken many names and shapes. Jeffrey Burton Russell here chronicles the remarkable story of the Devil from antiquity to the present. While recounting how past generations have personified evil, he deepens our understanding of the ways in which people have dealt with the enduring problem of radical evil.After a compelling essay on the nature of evil, Russell uncovers the origins of the concept of the Devil in various early cultures and then traces its evolution in Western thought from the time of the ancient Hebrews through the first centuries of the Christian era. Next he turns to the medieval view of the Devil, focusing on images found in folklore, scholastic thought, art, literature, mysticism, and witchcraft. Finally, he follows the Devil into our own era, where he draws on examples from theology, philosophy, art, literature, and popular culture to describe the great changes in this traditional notion of evil brought about by the intellectual and cultural developments of modern times.Is the Devil an outmoded superstition, as most educated people today believe? Or do the horrors of the twentieth century and the specter of nuclear war make all too clear the continuing need for some vital symbol of radical evil? A single-volume distillation of Russell's epic tetralogy on the nature and personifcation of evil from ancient times to the present (published by Cornell University Press between 1977 and 1986), The Prince of Darkness invites readers to confront these and other critical questions as they explore the past faces of that figure who has been called the second most famous personage in Christianity.
LC Classification Number
BT981
ebay_catalog_id
4
Copyright Date
2016
