Unmask Alice by Rick Emerson

Unmask Alice by Rick Emerson

"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

"One of the must-read books of this century."

--Gillian Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Gone Girl

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.

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.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781637745182
ISBN 10	1637745184
Title	Unmask Alice
Author	Rick Emerson
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	BenBella Books
Year published	2024-07-30
Number of pages	384
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.