![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Disappointment Aplenty from Unmask Alice
Dec. 15th, 2023 08:26 amWell, this is a difficult book to rate!
I adore books on the Satanic Panic. It’s one of my favorite subjects, and this one blew me out of the water. For 384 pages I was totally gripped. The writing was engaging, conversational, funny … and yes, frequently it slipped from “professional” into “mocking.” This was an early warning sign, because when I eagerly turned to the sources at the back of the book, I realized the lack of professionalism ran deeper than I thought — there weren’t any sources! Instead, Emerson says, in essence, “Just trust me — I promise not to lie.” And “Just Google it.” And “if you can’t find it on Google, just call people like I did” (which people?) “and maybe buy a plane ticket to BYU. While you’re at it, talk to Scott Barrett—“ (now incarcerated for child molestation) “—and ask him to see his brother’s journal!”
Um. What? I need a minute.
You spent the whole book debunking this con artist of an author who THRIVED off saying “just trust me…” and then you said, “Just trust me”? Emerson, why? ðŸ˜
Before the “sources” I would have rated this book easily 4/5 stars, maybe 5/5. I had read many of the Satanic Panic histories he referenced (although in most cases, he didn’t reference them by NAME) and I considered this the best overarching history of the movement that I’d seen. Maybe not the most thorough, because it wasn’t meant to be a history of the Satanic Panic, but excellent, concise, with a clear idea of the timeline and main events, all while giving plenty of detail and attention to the main focus: Alden Barrett, Go Ask Alice, Beatrice Sparks, and the role these cast members played in the Satanic Panic itself.
It’s very sad to me that I can’t in good conscience recommend this book, all because of the sloppy citations. I LOVED this book! It was emotional, well-written, and it SEEMED well-researched too. But all of us who read Go Ask Alice and Jay’s Journal as kids have heard “Just trust me” before. We aren’t gonna do it again!
I adore books on the Satanic Panic. It’s one of my favorite subjects, and this one blew me out of the water. For 384 pages I was totally gripped. The writing was engaging, conversational, funny … and yes, frequently it slipped from “professional” into “mocking.” This was an early warning sign, because when I eagerly turned to the sources at the back of the book, I realized the lack of professionalism ran deeper than I thought — there weren’t any sources! Instead, Emerson says, in essence, “Just trust me — I promise not to lie.” And “Just Google it.” And “if you can’t find it on Google, just call people like I did” (which people?) “and maybe buy a plane ticket to BYU. While you’re at it, talk to Scott Barrett—“ (now incarcerated for child molestation) “—and ask him to see his brother’s journal!”
Um. What? I need a minute.
You spent the whole book debunking this con artist of an author who THRIVED off saying “just trust me…” and then you said, “Just trust me”? Emerson, why? ðŸ˜
Before the “sources” I would have rated this book easily 4/5 stars, maybe 5/5. I had read many of the Satanic Panic histories he referenced (although in most cases, he didn’t reference them by NAME) and I considered this the best overarching history of the movement that I’d seen. Maybe not the most thorough, because it wasn’t meant to be a history of the Satanic Panic, but excellent, concise, with a clear idea of the timeline and main events, all while giving plenty of detail and attention to the main focus: Alden Barrett, Go Ask Alice, Beatrice Sparks, and the role these cast members played in the Satanic Panic itself.
It’s very sad to me that I can’t in good conscience recommend this book, all because of the sloppy citations. I LOVED this book! It was emotional, well-written, and it SEEMED well-researched too. But all of us who read Go Ask Alice and Jay’s Journal as kids have heard “Just trust me” before. We aren’t gonna do it again!
