Devil's Contract: A History of the Faustian Bargain

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"Lively . . . excoriating, eloquent . . . We are all Faustians now." - James Wood, The New Yorker A devilishly fascinating tour of the Faustian bargain through the ages, from brimstone to blues and beyond, now in paperback . . . "Lively . . . excoriating, eloquent . . . We are all Faustians now." - James Wood, The New Yorker A devilishly fascinating tour of the Faustian bargain through the ages, from brimstone to blues and beyond, now in paperback . . . From ancient times to the modern world, the idea of the Faustian bargain-the exchange of one's soul in return for untold riches and power-has exerted a magnetic pull upon our collective imaginations. Scholar Ed Simon takes us on a historical tour of the Faustian bargain, from the Bible to blues, and illustrates how the impulse to sacrifice our principles in exchange for power is present in all kinds of social ills, from colonialism to nuclear warfare, from social media to climate change to AI, and beyond. In doing so, Simon conveys just how much the Faustian bargain shows us about power and evil . . . and ourselves.

Reviews

A New Yorker Best Book of the Week
The Next Big Idea Clubs July 2024 Must-Read Books
A The Millions Most Anticipated Book of Summer 2024
A Goodreads Editor Pick for July 2024

"Ed Simon explores the history of the Faustian myth. . .enjoys its heresies and dangers, its madcap adventures, the magical-realist wildness; and, since he has read extremely widely, he relishes sharing all of that narrative wealth with his lucky readers ... Lively ... excoriating, eloquent ... We are all Faustians now." James Wood, The New Yorker

"A rich history... "Devils Contract reminds us of how often we deludedly exchange something of inestimable value our souls, our freedom, our honor, our beautiful Earth for what is ultimately glittery trash" -- Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

"Provocative... persuasively argues for Faust as a cornerstonepossibly an epitaphof modernity." Hamilton Cain, Wall Street Journal

"Simons probing curiosity conjures up an enjoyable grab-bag of arcane knowledge. Its a beguiling literary history of diabolical deals." Publishers Weekly

"An undeniably fascinating read, as the author weaves literary and intellectual strands into a colorful tapestry." STARRED Kirkus Review

"Erudite, scintillating, amusing, and undeniably unsettling ... reveals the terms of the contract the devil is extending to every one of us: the false promise of limitless power and pleasure, in exchange for a mere trifle: our principles, our souls." Carol Zaleski, author of The Book of Heaven

"I truly admire the hell out of this book. It's thrilling yet erudite investigation into the long history of a Faustian bargain with the devil. It uncovers the way the sinister transaction, however mythic, has been incorporated into literature, cultureand contemporary human nature. Eye-opening and pleasurable reading that is also cause for self-reflection." Ron Rosenbaum, author of Explaining Hitler and The Shakespeare Wars

"The Faustian bargain is, of course, the very epitome of the fools bargain; but there are moments in life when one might almost be persuaded that ones soul is not too exorbitant a price to pay for what one most keenly desires. Simons survey of the long history and mysterious psychology of the notion of a deal with the devil is many thingswild, entertaining, absorbing, learned, witty, acutebut it is also, in its final movement, prophetic and charged with an unsettling moral clarity." David Bentley Hart, author of That All Shall Be Saved

"Far more than a reception history, this haunting book not only traces the lineaments of this legend from its biblical roots to the modern day, but it also challenges readers to confront their own moral transactions, in particular how personal compromises made in our quest for capital and comfort have resulted in the calamities of our current age, which Simon provocatively calls the Faustocene. Scott G. Bruce, editor, The Penguin Book of Hell

Author Bio

Ed Simon is the Public Humanities Special Faculty in the English Department of Carnegie Mellon University and editor in chief of literary journal Belt Magazine. A staff writer for LitHub, his essays and criticism have appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Paris Review Daily, the New Republic, and the Washington Post. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his family.