Born with a Tail

“Entrancing and fascinating — an absolute must-read.”
 

“What an entertaining, bizarre, sometimes delightful, sometimes disturbing story. Thank you, Doug Brod, for this great book about an overlooked character in America’s gloriously weird history.”

“What happens when Satan meets show business? Please allow Anton LaVey to introduce himself. A quizzical cultural icon, this Zelig-like huckster with horns and cape became entwined with a veritable nightmare alley of celebrities, among them Jayne Mansfield, Kenneth Anger, Marilyn Manson, and Sammy Davis Jr. Doug Brod strikes just the right tone as he takes a magnifying glass to this tiny world, and the results are highly amusing. … I command thee to read [Born with a Tail]…”

“You don’t have to sell your soul to enjoy Doug Brod’s wickedly entertaining take on the incredible true-life tale of master showman and devil’s advocate Anton LaVey. If it didn’t all actually happen, you wouldn’t believe a word!”

“This is a delightful and strange portrait of an unusual man, made glorious by Doug Brod’s insight and witty prose.”

“More than just a fascinating biography, Born with a Tail is a high-resolution X-ray of America’s weird psyche in the second half of the twentieth century.” 

“The devil is in the details—and Doug Brod brings them all together in this deeply researched, fiendishly entertaining account on the life of celebrity Satanist Anton LaVey, one of the 20th century’s most fascinating pop-culture provocateurs.”

“With devilish wit and even tenderness, Doug Brod shows how LaVey’s committed cosplaying held a mirror up to the darker parts of America...”

“[Doug Brod] has written one hell of a book, a witty, cogent chronicle of one of the most noteworthy grifts American culture ever conjured up.”

"Entertaining... Brod’s portrayal is appealingly colorful and eccentric."

"There are many revelations in the book and Brod pulls no punches... A fascinating book about a fascinating huckster who, like in one of his beloved film noirs, ends up in tragedy. Tragic,  but famous."

"In Born With a Tail, Doug Brod does a fantastic job digging deep into LaVey’s life and telling a remarkably rounded story that unfolds in such a way that never loses the reader’s attention, with just the right amount of skepticism mixed with light admiration for what he was able to accomplish in his lifetime... Born With A Tail is a fast read owing greatly to Brod’s entertaining, conversational narration. The author also does a commendable job of telling LaVey’s fascinating story without coming off too cynical or too fawning while still covering all aspects of the figure who was able to become a modern-day boogieman to many while serving as a highly entertaining talk show guest to many others."

"Revelatory."