The Book of Satanic Quotations [Paperback]

Whether you look at this book for its material, practicality of use, OR aesthetics, I have to honestly say that this is a 5-star book in every way.

I've been a life-long fan of quotations. I just love it when I see a really great thought summarized in a brilliantly simple line or two. I keep a personal compilation of favorite quotes in several MS Word docs on my computer, always adding to it when I come across a new quote that I really like.

Unfortuantely, a lot of the quotations I see on calendars, day planners, bumper stickers, and other places are just...soft. They're more about self-righteousness than food for thought. Most quotations are just irrelevant Bible quotes, or uninspiring rehashes of the golden rule, or simply devoid of any logic (like this ridiculous "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" sticker that everybody has on their bumpers. First of all, an "eye for an eye" means "let the punishment fit the crime", not revenge. Even then, you don't HAVE any eye poking if people learn to mind their own business in the first place!)

Enter "The Book of Satanic Quotations". Whether you identify as an atheist, freethinker, Objectivist, misanthropist, social darwinist, rational hedonist, or just a general non-conformist, you'll find no shortage of devilishly lovable quotes in this book. There's certainly no shortage of religion bashing quotes, but that's far from being the only subject. The quotes are arranged alphabetically by author, and the topic index makes it easy to look up a theme and find a slew of relevant quotes.

The editor also stresses the point that a good quote is a good quote, regardless of who it comes from, so to whine "Why is Fredrick Douglas in this book?!? He was a Christian!" is to miss the point. These are all well-selected quotes, whether they come from ancient philosophers or modern rock stars. They show the world and life as they truly are, not "ought" to be. In a world where most people seem to praise conformity, mediocrity, and outdated religious dogma, the kinds of quotes here become quite "Satanic" to the status quo indeed.

Of course there IS already a non-theistic religion that incorporates freethought, epicurean philosophy, and all of those other things mentioned earler: Satanism. Not devil worship (which is just based on old folklore, church propaganda stories, and tacky horror movies), but rather the actual philosophy of Satanism, codefied by Anton Szandor LaVey, author of "The Satanic Bible". And that IS after all what it truly means to be devilish: witty, shamelessly indulgent, clever, and questioning. Appropriately, there are plenty of quotes from him and other actual Satanists. But instead of purely going for the obvious quotes from The Satanic Bible, the editor made a point of using equally good quotes from many out-of-print articles, interviews and other obscure sources.

This is NOT some copy and paste job from a few "quote" websites either. The editor went through the long and hard process of verifying every quote whenever possible, listing specific sources. That's more that can be said for the mass-forwarded internet posts, usually falsely attributed to different celebrities (here's a hint folks: 99% of the stuff on the internet that's attributed to George Carlin, isn't from him!)

And as if the content wasn't enough, the book in and of itself was put together EXTREMELY well. I have seen so many "self-published" books over the years that are filled with spelling mistakes, no index or table of contents, off-set margins, etc. Trust me when I say this is NOT a bunch of paper and pixelated pictures stolen from the web and randomly stapled together in some guy's basement. This is top-notch professional work. My jaw dropped when I flipped through it for the first time. It's also filled with beautiful medieval lithographs.

So if you're sick of the same old "Chicken Soup for the Soul", Oprah book club, "I'm OK, you're OK" stuff, or other forms of self-righteousness wrapped in bad advice, and you're looking for the diabolical antithesis (read: fun, witty, practical, and not sugar-coated), then do get this book. This is the kind of book you'll find yourself going back to and flipping through for years to come.

From the book: "I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires," Susan B. Anthony, 1896. This is only one example of hundreds of quotes in "The Book of Satanic Quotations" amassed and edited by Matt G. Paradise.

Included in this collection you will not only find words of wisdom from notable Satanists, and that of famous (and infamous) figures of history, science, medicine, politics, modern and early modern literature, and the entertainment industry, but from the great thinkers and writers of modern and ancient philosophical wisdom, as well. And although Satanic quotes coming from the Hollywood Hills to Capital Hill may not be so surprising, they also hail from a vast array of unexpected sources; such as Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, and Ethan Allen, just to name a few.

I found this book insightful, humorous and informative. Not only is it a fun read, some might even find it enlightening. This book is compiled into the perfect format; you can dig in and read it cover to cover in one sitting or savor it a few pages at a time on your daily commute. As the title may suggest, an open mind might be essential to buying this book, however, it is certainly not a prerequisite to one's appreciating it.

~Witch Tiberia Nine

Let's be frank: this book is very expensive. Because it's from an independent publisher, even this paperback, after shipping costs, was a stomach-churning twenty-six dollars. It was a gamble, since I wasn't able to look inside of the book, for me to buy it. But I figured that since it's from the Church of Satan, it would be pretty good. And I do enjoy it. I can't say that I regret buying it.

Here's what you need to know:

- The book has a fairly nice feel to it, and it doesn't force you to bend the spine when you read it or anything. Fairly similar to Feral House books. The author's name isn't on the spine, though!

- The quotes are sorted by author.

- The quotes are mostly about anti-theism, atheism, and general opposition to organized religion, and tend to focus on Christianity.

- There are a lot of quotes from the Church of Satan heads and the Feral House gang. Anton LaVey has six pages dedicated to him. Peggy Nadramia, Blanche Barton and co., also have a lot devoted to them, and Adam Parfrey and Michael Moynihan have sections.

- There are some very good, sometimes-obscure quotes from unlikely sources that have penetrating insights. Who knew that people like Hitler could spout out something so wise? As Matt Paradise, the editor (who includes a couple of pages for himself -- can't blame him) says in his introduction: you've sometimes gotta throw out the bathwater and keep the baby.

- There are only two quotes from Ayn Rand! For shame.

- There's an index by subject, which is helpful.

All in all, it's worth a purchase if you're on the fence.