With God in Russia; With Daniel J. Flaherty, S.J.
Garden City, New York: Image Books, 1966. Original pictorial card wrappers (7 1/8 inches tall). Little used with an uncreased spine. Fine. Item #1741
"LUBIANKA, IN MANY WAYS, WAS A SCHOOL OF PRAYER FOR ME"
First Image Books edition—"Complete and Unabridged"—of the astounding story of the American Jesuit who returned from the dead after 23 years as a captive priest in the Soviet Union. Perhaps the most important Jesuit book of the Cold War era, this copy is signed by Father Ciszek on the title page. An exceptional copy, little used with a smooth uncreased spine.
Walter Ciszek was serving at a Jesuit mission in eastern Poland in the fall of 1939 when successive German and Russian invasions swallowed the country. Instead of fleeing to the West, the young Jesuit headed East, disguised as a laborer, determined to pursue a clandestine ministry. Disaster struck in 1941 when Ciszek was arrested, charged as a spy, and imprisoned. His Russian ordeal included five years of solitary confinement in Moscow's dreaded Lubianka Prison: "He was kept day and night in his cell, except for the periodic interrogation sessions that were his only opportunity for human contact. To keep his wits intact he adopted a daily routine of spiritual exercises, all based on what he could remember from his Jesuit formation. The day began with morning prayers and an examination of conscience. Then came the Mass, all enacted mentally. The noon bells in Red Square signaled the Angelus followed by the Rosary and meditation on the Scriptures. Each day ended with another examination of conscience. So the solitary days, weeks, and years were passed." (Robert Ellsberg).
Finally released by the Soviets, the priest arrived in New York in October 1963—long after his family and the Society of Jesus had presumed him dead and martyred. As he transitioned back into a life among his Jesuit brothers, Father Ciszek, now serving at the John XXIII Center for Christian Oriental Studies at Fordham University, began to prepare a manuscript of his experiences (with the assistance of Daniel L. Flaherty, S.J., of America magazine). With God in Russia was first published in 1964 (in conjunction with The America Press) with a short Foreword by Thurston Davis, S.J., the editor-in-chief of America. This Image edition was designed by Bobri with an illustrated front panel and a review, in America magazine, on the back panel. Approbations. Robert Ellsberg. All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time.
Price: $350.00