Rating: 
Summary: The devil made them do it?
Review: "American Exorcism: Expelling Demons in the Land of Plenty" is an accessible and sometimes journalistic account of the resurgence of belief in demonic possession in among Protestants and Catholics in contemporary America. Written by a professor of sociology at Fordham Univesity, much of the book consists of first hand accounts of interviews with those involved in contemporary exorcisms and of rituals that the author witnessed.
Cuneo begins with what he considers the beginning of the modern rise of exorcism in America, namely the impact on the popular psyche of William Blatty's novel, "The Exorcist" and the immensely popular film made from it. From there, he discusses the influence of Malachi Martin's "Hostage to the Devil," the rise of beliefs in demonic possession and the practices of exorcism among conservative Protestant sects, and finally the current position of exorcism in American Catholicism.
Although skeptical of most claims of demonic possession, Cuneo tries to be evenhanded and (mostly) respectful in describing his experiences. He often provides multiple interpretations of what he saw, but sometimes wonders if those people whose exorcisms he witnessed might really have been suffering from psychological problems. He notes that even though some groups attribute virtually all problems to demonic affliction, others make efforts to distinguish between possession and mental illness. Cuneo's worst criticisms are aimed at Malachi Martin's less than adequately documented "Hostage to the Devil" and at "Michelle Remembers," a supposed first person account of a young woman's upbringing and torture at the hands of a satanic cult.
At times, the constant litany of names, places, groups can be difficult to keep straight, as can the differences between the various strains of belief. But no matter how much the details blur together, one thread runs through the entire book--the impact of mass media and popular culture on American religion. Cuneo found the influence of Hollywood to be a constant in his research. The phenomena depicted on screen in "The Exorcist" seemed to be a touchstone for those involved in exorcisms. Even if their experiences didn't follow quite the same pattern, the Hollywood version was always in the background, shaping their perceptions. In a media-driven society, this is an important--and unsettling--point. For better or worse, much of our culture--and how many of our beliefs and values--are shaped by movies, television, and the books we read. "American Exorcism" is a disturbing case study in the interaction of religion and popular culture
Rating: 
Summary: Informative and engaging
Review: AMERICAN EXORCISM is a fascinating book, tracing the resurgence and spread of the practice of exorcism in America since the first screening of the movie THE EXORCIST. The book contains enough historical information to be truly informative, yet also enough case- and character-study to keep the reader entertained. Cuneo's attitude towards exorcism is a skeptical one (in all of the exorcisms he has attended in the process of researching the book, he has seen nothing that indicates supernatural activity), but whether or not one agrees with this attitude, one will benefit from his discussion of the principal works and figures responsible for the renewal of exorcism in modern America.
Rating: 
Summary: Who Do The Voodoo
Review: Cuneo's sociological approach to a (strictly) religious ritual exposes this phenomena to be purely anthropic. While running the Christian gamut from conservative Catholicism to country deliverance ministries (and everything in between), this book provides substantive evidence that demons do not exist and confirms demon possession is internal--originating in human minds. This book overwhelmingly confirms that exorcism/deliverance is, at best, a wholistic mental health procedure for the marginal. Even though Chapter 13 wasn't necessary, the author clearly shows the topics of exorcism and devils are all about goose bumps.
Rating:
Summary: rrright...
Review: got this book because I'm interested in the subject of demonology and exorcism. The book is very promising at first, and it keeps you wanting to turn the pages. But after a while, it gets really tiring. The listing of so many facts and names make it hard to follow.
I understand that research and documenting is essential to such kinds of works, but after a while the average reader will get bored. Especially since the facts are limited to the US.
Rating:
Summary: Not convinced
Review: He trys to invalidate Malachi Martin by discussing his alleged indiscretions. He never proves or disproves his allegations about Mr. Martin. How does that prove anything?
When he discusses more credible "exoricists" in the book, he never really proves or disproves their case histories.
I found his touches of ironic humor off-putting and showing that he was biased in his research.
Rating: 
Summary: not an interesting read
Review: i didn't find this book at all a very interesting read.didn't have much to say on exorcism,it really was a book for the skeptic from a skeptic.anyone who wants to know about exorcism should avoid this book at all costs.if i want a boring read,then yes i suggest this book.
Rating:
Summary: The title is somewhat misleading...
Review: I purchased this book expecting to find case studies of exorcisms (specifically Catholic) that have been performed in recent years in the United States. Instead, this book primarily focuses on the many groups who perform exorcisms(or deliverances) within this country. Also, although Catholicism is generally associated with exorcism, the majority of this book centers on Protestant groups performing what they call Deliverance. And, a far too large portion of this book is devoted to the anti-Catholic bias of these groups.If you want a general overview of exorcism in this country, as well as a history of the practice in modern America, this is your book. If, however, you are looking for case studies of exorcism, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: A Decent Book, But Lacks Bite
Review: In the last chapter Cuneo writes, "Exorcism may be a strange therapy, it may be the crazy uncle of therapies, but it is a therapy none the less." Well, this is the 300-page book in summation. Cuneo does a respectable job of researching a host of different forms of exorcism in America, and his accounts do prove interesting. He performs a first hand examination of a host of theological [excentrics], from evangelical snake handlers, to Catholic priests who exchange blows with the devil himself. However, it's clear that Cuneo puts very little merit in any of these exorcisms, and one can see his conclusions almost from the first page. I think the book would have been much improved if Cuneo delved deeper in to the history of American exorcism. For example, a chapter or two about the Salem witch trials or other "exorcisms" from the distant past of American history would have given the book the bite it lacks. Although the book was slightly entertaining, it would be easy to skip over.
Rating:
Summary: Valuable insights and investigation, but more theory needed
Review: The period since the early 1970s has seen a huge rise in Americans seeking relief from demons. The possessed have sought exorcism, while those merely "oppressed" by diabolic forces have received "the deliverance ministry". Cuneo's study is an in-depth exploration of the different Christian groups in America offering these services. Cuneo's thesis is that two factors have led to this upsurge of demand: firstly, the popular media, particularly the book and film of "The Exorcist" and the work of a renegade Catholic priest, the late Malachi Martin, in the early 1970s; and secondly, the development of a "therapeutic culture" of self-fulfilment and self-help. As a result, the deliverance practices of Pentecostalism have come to feature across the board in conservative Protestantism and the previously rarely-used rite of Roman Catholic exorcism has become increasingly accessible. The author travels across America, meeting exorcists and their patients and attending dozens of sessions. There are Catholic traditionalists, anxious to reassert the mystical authority of the priesthood after Vatican II; members of the Charismatic wings of several of the major American denominations; and independent Pentecostals and Fundamentalists. In many places (once prompted by Cuneo, it has to be noted), "The Exorcist" and Malachi Martin's book "Hostage to the Devil" are cited by informants as inspirations for their "countersecular worldview" in which human motivations can very easily be ascribed to demonic influence. Cuneo's book is an excellent resource for tracing the way different parts of the movement have influenced each other. Through Francis MacNutt, the ideas of Derek Prince and Don Basham entered the Catholic Charismatic movement; fears of "Satanic conspiracy" brought deliverance ideas into Evangelicalism. However, there are some curious omissions. While the origins of Pentecostalism are covered, there is no mention of the "Later Rain" Movement, for example. Also, apart from a couple of nods to the UK and Rome, there is not much sense of an international movement. Part of the problem here is Cuneo's emphasis on how the movement has taken hold of "white, middle-class" American Christians. He almost completely ignores African-American Christianity and the possible influence of non-Western Pentecostalism in the USA (although he does mention a Nigerian Catholic exorcist in passing). Further, although he nods to the New Age movement with references to Scott Peck and Ed and Lorraine Warren (Two Roman Catholic "psychic investigators" who inspired "The Amityville Horror"), more could be said about exorcism among non-Christian or para-Christian minority groups in the USA. Cuneo's linking of exorcism to popular culture is a useful development, although his bold claim that the media "manipulate" religious belief blithely ignores several decades of media studies theory. He claims, in a footnote, that several psychologists have done work which confirms his idea, but the only reference he gives is to an article in the "Seattle Times". Also, more could be made about the glaring gender issue in his study; only in passing does he mention the predominance of women seeking deliverance in certain sectors of the movement. The style of book is engaging, although the author veers between scholarship and journalism. This betrays his background as a lecturer at Fordham, a Roman Catholic institution. When discussing Roman Catholic exorcism, he is appropriately sombre and sympathetic; but when he explores exorcism in the "Word of Faith" movement of the "Prosperity Gospel" his mockery verges on the Menckenesque. "American Exorcism" is certainly more nuanced than Roland Howard's "Charismania", a British polemic on the subject, although the paradigm within which the contemporary Charismatic movement works has been discussed in more theoretical depth in another semi-journalistic work, Ian Cotton's "The Hallelujah Revolution". Cuneo's insights and investigative work are, however, very valuable.
Rating:
Summary: OK for what it is, but what it is isn't much
Review: The problem here is one of (hermeneutical) access. If one of the goals is to find out whether or not demons exist, which the author plainly recognizes as an aspect of his purposes (esp. in his concluding chapter), the hermeneutics of skeptical open-mindedness, or open-minded skepticism (the author's stated approach), just isn't up to the job. One would have thought an author as sophisticated and worldy-wise as Mr. Cuneo would have been aware of the limitations of a secular/phenomenology-based methodology to get at a problem (an assessment of the existence or non-existence of demons) that is at best only partially accessible to such an approach. Thus when he declares that there were no spectacular demonic manifestations during 50 or so actual exorcisms to which he was an eyewitness, this could as easily be a consequence of his personal skepticism as evidence of the non-existence of demons. To his credit, Mr. Cuneo acknowledges part of this problem--he admits that his researches are limited, that demons may have manifested at other exorcisms he didn't attend, etc.--but he doesn't get at the heart of the matter, namely, that his "hermeneutics of suspicion" has only limited ability to gain access to the issue of the existence or non-existence of demons. Had he adopted a different approach, the "hermeneutics of generosity," his results perhaps would have been very different. One would have thought that this method--the hermeneutics of generosity, ironically largely a result of Post Modernism--would be familiar to someone like Mr. Cuneo. After all, it has led to spectaculur results in other fields, e.g., Biblical studies (N. T. Wright), anthropology and literary criticism (Rene Girard), and philosophy (Jean-Luc Marion). Also disturbingly, the author makes much of a kind of religio-pop culture connection, evidenced by resurgence of interest in exorcism as well as an increase in those seeking exorcisms, and, consequently, the rise of deliverence ministries, following the film release of The Exorcist and the publication of Hostage to the Devil. While there may be some association here, its existence tells us little or nothing about the questions at the heart of the book: Do demons exist? and Are exorcisms (and/or deliverences) actual events where demons come out of people? Indeed, I got the distinct impression that the book's shift of focus from the question of the existence of demons to the pop-culture/exorcism connection was largely a consequence of the author's defective methodology. Bottom line, if you're interested in a sociology-or-religion examination of exorcism, the book has a real but limited value. If you're interested in the larger questions of the existence or non-existence of demons and of what really goes on in an exorcism--the casting out of a demon or merely a kind of esoteric but nontheless often helpful and at worst usually benign religious rite--you'll get slim pickings from this volume.
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