Sermon on the Sea

Chicago: Universal Publishing Co, 1924. Full Description:

GANDHI, Mahatma. Sermon on the Sea. With an Introduction by John Haynes Holmes. Edited by Haridas T. Muzumdar. Chicago: Universal Publishing Co., 1924.

First US edition, signed twice by Gandhi. Octavo (7 3/4 x 5 1/4 inches; 198 x 134 mm). i-128 pp. Signed in ink by Gandhi on front cover and on top margin of title-page. A certificate of authenticity is included with this volume from MDA Forensic Examiners.

Publisher's full yellow cloth. Front board and spine printed in blue. Boards with some mild discoloration. Pages xii-xiii with some toning. Overall a near fine copy.

"Those who would know the life of Gandhi may find it set down in the biography by the Editor of this volume, called Gandhi the Apostle. The writings which have come from Gandhi's pen in the form of newspaper editorials and articles, occasional essays, letters, addresses, etc., in the years of struggle from 1919 to 1922, together with the record of the famous trial, may be found in a book just published under the title, 'Young India.' The present volume has unique value as the only book ever written as such by the Mahatma. It is a remarkable presentation, in the form of a kind of Socratic dialogue, of the program of political independence and social regeneration which he seeks to achieve through his method of non-cooperation or non-resistant coercion. Known and widely read in India under the title 'Hind-Swaraj' ('Self-Determination'), it has hitherto been unavailable in this country. Its publication at this time is a notable event." (From the Introduction).

"The title 'Sermon in the Sea' has been inspired by the fact that the book was written on board the steamer in November, 1909, while Gandhi was returning from England to South Africa; he himself first called it 'Indian Home Rule' and later on 'Hind Swaraj.' In the body of the book the term 'Hind Swaraj' ('India's Self-Determination') has been retained."(Editor's Note)

"A testament to the revolutionary power of nonviolence, Gandhi's approach directly influenced Martin Luther King, Jr., who argued that the Gandhian philosophy was 'the only morally and practically sound method open to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom'" (Papers 4:478). (Stanford University)

HBS 69108.

$8,500.