Damien the Leper by John Villiers Farrow (PT174)

Published 1937: First Edition / Hardcover / Very Good Condition / Illustrated throughout

Original red cloth with gilt titles on the spine. 287 very clean and bright pages, one illustrated page loose but within, previous owners bookplate on inner cover. Boards slightly rubbed, marked and faded with time and bumped on the corners consistent with age but remain firm and intact. A very scarce first edition. (PT174)

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The memory of Father Damien will surely endure as long as men thrill to adventures of the spirit. For if ever a man exemplified the human frailties and the great strength of mankind, it was Damien de Veuster. Humble, headstrong, patient and kind, he lived his life against the background of the lush tropical splendor of the South Sea Islands surrounded by the hopelessness and degradation of the living dead. For many years the unquenchable flame of his spirit gave new hope to those who had been without hope. Then, one day, standing before his altar, quietly and unostentatiously he began to address his listeners, not as customarily, "my brethren", but slowly and significantly, "We lepers".

John Farrow - author, sailor, World War II Naval officer, director of some of Hollywood's most distinguished motion pictures, recipient of world-renowned awards - first encountered the Legend of Damien while traveling in the South Seas years ago. The legend - and even more the facts behind it - so fired his enthusiasm that he put aside all else until he had written this book.

Although perhaps best known for his work as a Hollywood film director, John Farrow (1904-1963) was also a prolific writer. In this classic account of incredible courage and compassion, he chronicles the life of Joseph De Veuster, a.k.a. Father Damien, and his days on the leper colony of Molokai. Google Books.