Product Description

Here is the definitive biography of the notorious founder of the Church of Satan. The mysterious LaVey arouses even more curiosity today than during his heyday in the 1960s when his picture appeared on the covers of Look and Time magazines. Photographs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #133883 in Books
• Published on: 1992-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 262 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780922915125
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Customer Reviews

Devil's Avenger, Revised Edition
I also read The Devil's Avenger, by Burton Wolfe (1974), and experienced extreme deja vu. Going back and comparing them, I find many parts identical, often word for word. Read them both and judge for yourself.
Some have written that Anton LaVey ghost-wrote both books. That would explain the situation, and why Wolfe (or heirs?) took no action against the newer book.
I regard this book as a revised and updated edition of The Devil's Avenger.

An entertaining read about an entertaining man.
The majority of reviewers on LaVey's books usually fall into 3 categories; 1) Slobbering, groveling, worshipping followers of anything he said or did. 2) Pseudo-intellectuals trying placate their egos with supposedly intelligent perspectives on LaVey. 3) Slobbering, groveling, worshipping religious Jesus-junkies denouncing everything about LaVey. Why can't people just accept him for what he was; a colorful character with a brilliant philosophical outlook on life. Much can be gained by reading his views, but to make a religion out of it is the greatest trick he ever pulled off.

Portrait of a Hellraiser
Blanche Barton's 'Secret Life of a Satanist' gives an intriguing account of the life of Dr. Anton LaVey, founder of America's first 'official' Church of Satan.

Dr. LaVey rose up from a dissatisfied childhood to enjoy success in a variety of careers, including lion taming (or 'lion training,' as he prefers to call it), performing as a musician on a variety of instruments (primarily organ), and working as a crime photographer for the San Francisco police department. Along the way, he allegedly has a brief relationship with Marilyn Monroe while performing music for various West coast clubs.

As his life progresses, his ferocious views lead him to start an occult group in San Francisco, in his new home which would become the notorious 'Black House.' This group (which I believe was called 'The Order of the Trapezoid') evolved into the Church of Satan, which officially emerged in 1966 (or in Satanic parlance, A.S. 1; the first year of Satan).

Following the birth of LaVey's church, the 'good doctor' is associated with various shocking events, especially the death of Jayne Mansfield.

Parts of this book will set off your nonsense detector (assuming you have one), especially when Dr. LaVey suggests that in the future, space colonization will lead to the Satanization of the earth. He also claims to have seen a real life Lovecraftian monster in a cave, and a four-foot caterpillar. In addition to this, the book includes a ritual for lycanthropic transformation. I found these things to be a little hard to swallow.

In spite of these sillier points, this book is otherwise a very compelling story of a driven individual who was determined both to get something out of his life, and to make his mark on the world. Many of the finer points of LaVey's philosophy are brought out, including his tastes in music (he hated rock music!), and his love for forgotten things.

Like most occult books, there's a b.s. factor involved; but in the end this is a well-written story about a true American original. Large portions of this book are taken from interviews with LaVey. Not all readers will agree with LaVey's approach to life, but it's difficult not to admire a man with the guts to wear a pentagram in broad daylight, and defy the religious establishment.