Hostage to the Devil : The Possession and Exorcism of Five Living Americans

New York: Reader's Digest Press. Very Good in Very Good- dust jacket. 1976. Hardcover. No signatures. A 30mm tear to front panel of dust-jacket. Dust-jacket protected in archival mylar cover.; Second printing. [8], 477, [2], [1 (blank)] pages. Black papered boards with red cloth spine. Gilt lettering on spine. Page dimensions: 228 x 150mm. "What happens when a human being becomes possessed by Satan? What are the horrors of being possessed? What type of man is an exorcist? Why would he offer himself as hostage to the devil so as to free the person possessed by evil? What are the physical tortures and mental anguish of the exorcist? Here for the first time, in a book of unforgettable power and compassion that is being praised as a milestone by churchmen of varied faiths, are documented case histories of possession and exorcism - the real life dramas of five Americans whose exorcisms were performed between 1965 and 1974. [. . .] The minute-by-minute details of each exorcism are reproduced from tape recordings made at the actual exorcism. Thus the eternal struggle of good versus evil comes alive as drama of terrifying force and of great beauty. [. . .] The constant dangers faced by all who participate in exorcism are explained, plus some of the qualities and attributes generallyh found in a successful exorcist, who willingly and at great peril offers himself as hostage to the devil to free the possessed for that one final moment of choice between evil and salvation." - from dust-jacket blurb. .