"Though this biography is definitely unauthorized," Peter Stanford writes in his preface, "and the subject has not cooperated -- as far as I am aware -- I did at least manage to track down not one but three exorcists." We"re used to seeing entertaining biographies of the famous, but here"s something new: a very readable biography of the most infamous of all, the Devil himself. Peter Stanford presents a great amount of historical and scholarly material, yet manages to do so in a witty and highly intelligent style that keeps the reader turning the pages. From early Mesopotamia through the long history of Christianity, from medieval witch hunts to today"s heavy metal rockers and Satanic cults, Stanford manages to, as he puts it, present a "very personal exploration of the highs and lows of the Devil"s influence."