A fascinating perspective on the history and personification of evil throughout various early cultures, and how they impacted Judaism and ultimately Christianity. For the first two chapters, Russell establishes definitions of terms he will be using through out the text and his methodology. Chapters three and on dive into the polytheistic gods of the underworld (chthonic), the developments of monism and dualism, Judaic and Christian apocrypha, etc. There are two major reasons for choosing this text over others: Jeffrey Burton Russell has an academic background on the subject and he takes a historical perspective rather than a theological perspective on the subject of evil. There are three other books in the series: [b:Satan: The Early Christian Tradition|1305142|Satan The Early Christian Tradition|Jeffrey Burton Russell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387740126l/1305142._SY75_.jpg|1294381], [b:Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages|654961|Lucifer The Devil in the Middle Ages|Jeffrey Burton Russell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348155260l/654961._SY75_.jpg|641063], and [b:Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern World|216558|Mephistopheles The Devil in the Modern World|Jeffrey Burton Russell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348647180l/216558._SY75_.jpg|209661].