Dr Schweitzer of Lambarene by Norman Cousins (Nobel peace prize winner)

Hardcover, secondhand 220 x 145mm wide, 168 pgs.

B&w illustrated.

Pub: Adam & Charles Black, London, 1961.

First British Edition.

Internally: Foxing - light on inside covers, front and back end papers and last script page. Otherwise clean. Name of prev. owner neatly inscribed on the fep. Binding good.

Dj, clipped, poor - see photos.

'The intimate study of 'the most gifted genius of our age' by the distinguished editor of The Saturday Review of America.

For ten years Mr Cousins prepared for a long visit to Dr Schweitzer at Lambarene by reading all that he had ever written... The conversations between them consequently had an exceptional depth and richness....'

'The Testing of Atomic Bombs'  - 'Declaration of Conscience' speech, one of four appeals is published in this book.

The Nobel Peace Prize of 1952 was awarded to Dr Albert Schweitzer. His "The Problem of Peace" lecture is considered one of the best speeches ever given. From 1952 until his death he worked against nuclear tests and nuclear weapons with Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell. In 1957 and 1958 he broadcast four speeches over Radio Oslo which were published in Peace or Atomic War. In 1957, Schweitzer was one of the founders of The Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy. On 23 April 1957, Dr. Schweitzer made his "Declaration of Conscience" speech, it was broadcast to the world over Radio Oslo, pleading for the abolition of nuclear weapons. He ended his speech, saying:^[43]

"The end of further experiments with atom bombs would be like the early sunrays of hope which suffering humanity is longing for."

Albert Schweitzer (14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician. He was born in Kaysersberg in the province of Alsace-Lorraine, a border region which was under German rule at the time, but has since come under French rule. Schweitzer challenged both the secular view of Jesus as depicted by historical-critical methodology current at his time in certain academic circles, as well the traditional Christian view, depicting a Jesus Christ who expected and predicted the imminent end of the world. He received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize in 1953 for his philosophy of "Reverence for Life",^[1] expressed in many ways, but most famously in founding and sustaining the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, now in Gabon, west central Africa (then French Equatorial Africa). As a music scholar and organist, he studied the music of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach and influenced the Organ reform movement (Orgelbewegung).

Schweitzer's passionate quest was to discover a universal ethical philosophy, anchored in a universal reality, and make it directly available to all of humanity.^[2]. This is reflected in some of his sayings, such as:

"Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace."

"I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."