In narrative non-fiction in the tradition of In the Heart of the Sea and The Devil in the White City, John Tayman transports the reader to the morning of January 6, 1866, when government agents forced a dozen men and women aboard a leaky schooner, sailed them to an island prison 2,500 miles off the coast of California, and banished them forever. Two weeks later a dozen others were exiled, then forty more, and then a hundred. Tracked by bounty hunters and torn from their families, the luckless were loaded into shipboard cattle stalls and abandoned in a lawless place where brutality held sway. Their crime? Suspicion of having leprosy. Many did not actually have the illness, however, and many who did were not contagious—yet all were trapped in a shared nightmare. Their prison had little food, little medicine, and little hope. Exile continued for more than a century, the longest and deadliest instance of medical segregation in American history. More than eight thousand people were exiled. Twenty-seven survivors remain today.

The Colony reveals the untold history of the infamous American leprosy settlement on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, and of the exceptional people who managed to survive under the most horrific circumstances. It’s a fantastic epic of ruthless manhunts, thrilling escapes, shipwrecks and tidal waves, murder and mutiny, bizarre medical experiments and miraculous bravery, with a real-life cast of characters that includes Jack London, Mark Twain, Teddy Roosevelt, John Wayne, and many more.

“This is a fascinating book, about disease and the startling responses to it, ranging from terror to love…a book full of heroes—and some villains.” —Paul Theroux

THE COLONY
THE HARROWING TRUE STORY OF THE EXILES OF MOLOKAI
By John Tayman

0-7432-3300-X
$27.50/$37.95 Can.
On Sale 1/09/2006

“A fascinating piece of history . . .”
—Tracy Kidder

“A tale of fear, endurance and hope . . .”
—Publishers Weekly

“Stirring . . .”
—Fortune

“A gripping history . . . utterly engrossing.”
—Booklist (starred review)

www.johntayman.com
www.simonsays.com

To interview John Tayman, contact Katie Monaghan at (212) 632-4950 or Katherine.Monaghan@simonandschuster.com