The Colony
By: John Tayman
Publisher: Scribner
Published: 2006
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 421
ISBN-13: 9780743233002; 9780743233019
Subjects: Leprosorium; History, 19th Century; Lepra; Leper Colonies; History, 20th Century; History; Leprosy
Description: Reveals the untold history of the infamous American leprosy colony on Molokai and of the extraordinary people who struggled to survive under the most horrific circumstances. Tracked by bounty hunters and torn screaming from their families, the luckless were loaded into shipboard cattle stalls and abandoned in a lawless place where brutality held sway. Many did not have leprosy, and most of those who did were not contagious, yet all were caught in a shared nightmare. The colony had little food, little medicine, and very little hope. Exile continued for more than a century, the longest and deadliest instance of medical segregation in American history. Nearly 9,000 people were banished to the colony, trapped by pounding surf and armed guards and the highest sea cliffs in the world. 28 live there still.--From publisher description.
Notes: "A Lisa Drew book."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 387-396) and index.