Who the Hell is the Devil?

A Short Introduction

Everyone knows the Devil. Almost no one knows who he actually is.

This book tells his story from the beginning: his fall from Heaven, his first appearance in the Garden of Eden, his schemes against patriarchs and prophets, his defeats at the hands of Christ, his corruption of the church. It shows a Satan who makes contracts he cannot honor, who prompts Herod to order a massacre without locating the right child, who unleashes persecution against the early Christians and has to watch the church grow stronger with every martyrdom. It also shows how he works today. He convinced us to look for horns and hooves, so we never see him coming. He no longer bothers with ugly old witches on broomsticks. He walks among us now in better disguises—and some of his most effective agents have no idea whom they serve.

Inside, you'll find the full text of the Brothers Grimm's most hidden fairy tale—the one Disney will never film—plus a timeline of Defoe's era