Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries

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Rick Emerson

Unmask Alice

LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries

Rick Emerson

$65

Hardback

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English

BenBella Books
30 August 2022

Biography: general; Biography: literary; Hoaxes & deceptions

"""Unmask Alice by Rick Emerson goes a long way to showing what investigative journalism could be in the right hands . . . this book is undeniably buzzworthy."" -Portland Book Review

""An absorbing and unnerving read . . . this book demands to be finished in one sitting."" -Booklist

Two teens. Two diaries. Two social panics. One incredible fraud.

""Unmask Alice by Rick Emerson goes a long way to showing what investigative journalism could be in the right hands . . . this book is undeniably buzzworthy."" -Portland Book Review

""An absorbing and unnerving read . . . this book demands to be finished in one sitting."" -Booklist

Two teens. Two diaries. Two social panics. One incredible fraud.

In 1971, Go Ask Alice reinvented the young adult genre with a blistering portrayal of sex, psychosis, and teenage self-destruction. The supposed diary of a middle-class addict, Go Ask Alice terrified adults and cemented LSD's fearsome reputation, fueling support for the War on Drugs. Five million copies later, Go Ask Alice remains a divisive bestseller, outraging censors and earning new fans, all of them drawn by the book's mythic premise- A Real Diary, by Anonymous.

But Alice was only the beginning.

In 1979, another diary rattled the culture, setting the stage for a national meltdown. The posthumous memoir of an alleged teenage Satanist, Jay's Journal merged with a frightening new crisis-adolescent suicide-to create a literal witch hunt, shattering countless lives and poisoning whole communities.

In reality, Go Ask Alice and Jay's Journal came from the same dark place- Beatrice Sparks, a serial con artist who betrayed a grieving family, stole a dead boy's memory, and lied her way to the National Book Awards.

Unmask Alice- LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries is a true story of contagious deception. It stretches from Hollywood to Quantico, and passes through a tiny patch of Utah nicknamed ""the fraud capital of America."" It's the story of a doomed romance and a vengeful celebrity. Of a lazy press and a public mob. Of two suicidal teenagers, and their exploitation by a literary vampire.

Unmask Alice . . . where truth is stranger than nonfiction."

By: Rick Emerson
Imprint: BenBella Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 157mm, Spine: 32mm
Weight: 573g
ISBN: 9781637740422
ISBN 10: 1637740425
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 30 August 2022
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Rick Emerson is a longtime radio and television broadcaster, the former host of the nationally-syndicated Rick Emerson Show, and the coauthor (with Lisa Desjardins) of Zombie Economics- A Guide to Personal Finance. He's a regular guest on America's finer podcasts, and can be seen in occasional television roles and a truly dreadful commercial for tires. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his two dogs, Willard and Philo.