Most of my favorite books on the "Satanism" came out during "The Panic" of the 80s. Most of these evangelized books were aimed at informing anal retentive parents on signs to look for to determine if your kid's developing an interest in the "dark side." Funny thing is there is so much information regarding the occult that it was far more attractive than repulsive. It obviously was aimed for its original purpose for an older audience. My particular favorite was "Satanism: Is your family safe?" Dunno if it's still in print, but it's a classic.

I just bought this for a very good friend of mine for his Birthday and have recieved great feedback.

Alongside with everything I have read about this book here (both positive and negative), I think I shall grab a copy for myself now and add it to my already rather long reading list.

The way I see it, if you read The Satanic Bible, The Satanic Rituals, The Satanic Witch, The Church of Satan, The Secret Life of a Satanist, et cetera, and you want more... Then this book is a prime candidate for those interested in Satanism, metal or both. It is what it is, it has both sides of the story, from loonies and reputable people.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and my review was to try and let others know about it, so that they could enjoy it too. How altruistic... At then end of the day, I enjoyed it, and it was time well spent/money well spent.

awesome....can you send me a copy of your satanic bible..
FOR FUCK SAKE....

I agree! Very great book. I admire Baddeley's style of writing and the diaboloical look to the pages are pretty neat.
I love this book, and Gavin is now one of my favortie authors because of it!

HS!!

I just bought one of Baddeley's later works; 'Goth Chic' and its proving to be an informed read. His latest book is due out in may this year... One for the birthday list I think!

This is actually the main book that got me interested in REAL Satanism in the first place, due to Gavin's detailed account on the CoS and what being a Satanist "really" means.

Then afterwards, I read the Satanic Bible, and it hit me even harder.

And yes, the dumbass level from some of the people interviewed on their truly surpasses some of the intellects here in various trailer parks in the South.....

I have recently read this book (Discovering Baddeley's work when a friend bought 'Goth Chic' for my birthday) and I found it a very interesting read. Unfortunately it was a Library copy, but I will be buying my own to re-read in the future.

I highly recommend it. In fact when people ask how to learn about Satanism I always say to read the Satanic Bible first, and then "Lucifer Rising". It covers the entire history of Satanism and also from many different viewpoints. Which is perfect since Satanism is about thinking for yourself and being an individual instead of the herd mentallity of a sheep. So I can see why he interviewed so many different people to get every one's point of view on the subject out there.

I spent most of last Summer looking through this book over and over. It is an absolutely delightful read and I consider it one of my favorite reads of last year. The scope is amazing- to name only a handful of it's topics, the book covers Aleister Crowley, Nazi Occultism, the "dark side" of the New Age movement, the history of the Church of Satan, virtually every pseudo-Satanic and devil worshipping group one can imagine, Satanic music and music erroneously labeled Satanic.

In it's pages, I was introduced to the works of Boyd Rice, Diabolus Rex, Coop, Kenneth Anger, and many other Satanists for the first time. This exposure gave me a much better idea of the potential applications of Satanism.

As can be seen in the reviews above, one widely criticized element of the book is its coverage of pseudo-Satanists and devil worshippers. On the one hand, I have to agree with some of this criticism. Michael Aquino's split from the Church of Satan is called a "Reformation" if I remember correctly. This seems a rather glorified way of describing his often questionable actions.

On the other hand, the inclusion of the devil worshippers and pseudo-satanists made it clear the difference between the Church of Satan and Pseudo-Satanic groups. Real Satanists have created many original and unparalleled creations; pseudo-satanists have little to show for their efforts except occultnik babblings. By the end of the book, the difference between real Satanism and the fakes is clear.

The interviews of real Satanists are a treat. I particularly enjoyed the ones of Dr. LaVey and Magister Boyd Rice. Almost immediately after finishing this book the first time, I went out and bought everything by Rice I could get my hands on. His personal philosophy is allowed much coverage and is fascinating.

Overall: there's a good chance, you'll want to read this book again after you finish it!

I adore this book.