Father Coughlin's Radio Discourses, 1931-1932 by COUGHLIN, Charles E

Royal Oak, MI: The Radio League of the Little Flower. Paperback. 8vo. Stiff green wrappers. 239pp. Very good. Wrappers rather age toned and lightly soiled, though internally tight and bright. Nice first edition of the (in)famous radio priests sermons, which encouraged isolationism and bordered on antisemitism. Laid in is the usual mimeographed letter (with recipient's name typed in) on "Shrine of The Little Flower" letterhead, 7¼" x 10 3/4", dated April 1932, transmitting this book and thanking for support -- secretarially signed, as are all of these. (Not a surprise, since Coughlin was supposedly getting more than 10,00 letters a day and employed a secretarial staff exceeding 100 -- a few years letter, his office supposedly was receiving 80,00 letters every week.) Amusing pencilled comment at bottom concerns the recipient of this letter: "Marie was apparently gulled by a powerful but poorly though[t] out speech and a (hopefully) well intentioned but definitely illogical speaker"; along the top edge of the front wrapper, the same writer also notes (in pencil), "Series of speeches that worked against international cooperation." Another hand pencils "NONSENSE" large and bold on front wrapper alongside title.