Raymond De Coccola

The New York Times deservedly called this book a classic. Father Raymond de Coooola, a missionary of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, spent 12 years from 1937-1949 among the Krangmalit Eskimos, whom he rightly calls "an extraordinary people." Originally published in 1954, Father Raymond had censored his original notes for his monsignor who censored them even more, and Oxford University Press knocked off an additional 43,000 words. Even butchered as it was it was acclaimed as "nothing less than a monument" by Peter' Freuchen, the Arctic expert. This edition (1986) returns to the original notes and manuscript. It contains all the harsh reality of the Eskimos’ lives: girls left to die outside in the freezing cold in winter, left in stone boxes to die in summer; men murdering husbands to obtain their wives (which seems somehow illogical after having killed off so many girl babies,) constant light and darkness, and scarce food. It is a voyage into the past to of our glacial ancestors; and a fascinating trip indeed.… (mehr)