The Satanic Bible
LaVey, Anton Szandor. The Satanic Bible. Avon Books, 1969 (1st Avon Books Printing). Softbound. The rare first paperback edition of this foundational text of LaVeyan Satanism, which according to the diabolic showman's estranged daughter, Zeena Schreck, was written at the urging of Avon Editor in Chief Peter Mayer after LaVey's appearance in Rosemary's Baby (Mayer would again court controversy two decades later when he published another devilish title for Penguin: Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses). LaVey drew from—some say plagiarized—a variety of sources when piecing together the book, including Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, John Dee's Enochian keys, Ragnar Redbeard's 1890 social Darwinist screed, Might Is Right, and the philosophy of P. T. Barnum. Features the Sigil of Baphomet to the front, a violet-filtered portrait of the author to the back, Draco-inspired dingbats cradling ceremonial initials to each chapter heading, and an intro by LaVey biographer Burton H. Wolfe.
