THE DEVIL a new biography PHILIP C ALMOND

The Devil: A New Biography by Philip C. Almond is an expansive and scholarly yet accessible exploration of the figure of the Devil — not as a static mythic character but as a living force in religion, culture, and history that has shaped human thought for nearly two millennia. Rather than a fictional narrative, this book functions as a biographical study of an idea, tracing how people across time and faiths have understood, imagined, feared, and debated this enigmatic figure.

📚 What the book covers:
• Origins and evolution: Almond starts in the early centuries of the Christian era, examining how the Devil’s image emerged from Jewish and early Christian contexts and developed through scripture, theology, and tradition.
• Demonology and belief: The book explores how ideas about demons, angels, witches, and spiritual evil were shaped — including the rise of classical demonology, medieval notions of Hell, and witchcraft persecutions.
• Cultural impact: Beyond religion, Almond shows how the Devil has influenced art, literature, folklore, and even psychology — persisting in popular imagination even as belief in a literal Hell declined in the modern era.
• Themes and debates: The biography also considers theological tensions, such as the Devil’s role as both adversary and paradoxical servant in divine narratives, and how Enlightenment thought challenged traditional notions of evil.

📖 Approach: Almond writes with a historian’s rigour and a storyteller’s clarity, making this book suitable for readers interested in religion, mythology, intellectual history, and cultural studies. It’s not a devotional work but rather a cognitive and cultural biography of one of the most enduring figures in Western thought — the Prince of Darkness himself.

If you’d like, I can also share a brief breakdown of key chapters or themes from the book!

CONDITION NEW