These kinds of tales, as Ed Simon explores in his lively new book, “Devil’s Contract: The History of the Faustian Bargain” (Melville House), existed as myths that enacted both resistance and ...

Ed Simon’s provocative, if clunky, “Devil’s Contract” traces the cultural history of the Faust myth at its broadest: the resonant idea of a human making a deal with darkness, most ...

But in “Devil’s Contract: The History of the Faustian Bargain,” Ed Simon contends that we all “occasionally betray our principles for personal gain” and, in effect, “sign on the dotted ...

In the German legend, Faust signs a contract with the devil, exchanging his immortal soul for vast knowledge and other earthly rewards. It's a cut-and-dried transaction. In Daniel Kehlmann's new ...

The contract gave him final cut and a piece of ... blues musician Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil for mastery over his guitar. With a satchel full of cash and a truck full ...