A devilishly fascinating tour of the Faustian bargain through the ages, from brimstone to blues and beyond . . .
From ancient times to the modern world, the idea of the Faustian bargain—the exchange of one’s soul in return for untold riches and power—has exerted a magnetic pull upon our collective imaginations.
Scholar Ed Simon takes us on a historical tour of the Faustian bargain, from the Bible to blues, and illustrates how the impulse to sacrifice our principles in exchange for power is present in all kinds of social ills, from colonialism to nuclear warfare, from social media to climate change to AI, and beyond. In doing so, Simon conveys just how much the Faustian bargain shows us about power and evil . . . and ourselves.
Ed Simon is Lecturer in English at Carnegie Mellon University where he focuses on the Public Humanities and he edits The Pittsburgh Review of Books. A widely published author, his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, and The Washington Post, among dozens of others. He is the author of over a dozen books, including Pandemonium: A Visual History of Pittsburgh, An Alternative History of Pittsburgh, and Devil’s Contract: The History of the Faustian Bargain, named one of the “Best Books of 2024” by The New Yorker.
BOOKS
- Copies of Devil’s Contract: The History of the Faustian Bargain are available for pre-order, and other titles by Ed Simon are available for purchase, at White Whale Bookstore. After the lecture, there will be a book signing with the author in the Lecture Hall.
