Dr. Edgar Berman was In Africa with Schweitzer as a member of the venerated doctor's surgical team in Lambarene. There, he was about to delve into Schweitzer's psyche, his personality, his rationale. He would ask and answer: why would a world famous physician maroon himself in the jungles of Africa: Why would an intellectual with doctorates in four disciplines choose a primitive, isolated life?

Albert Schweitzer was feared, held in awe, placed on a pedestal and derided. Dr. Berman's diary, the germ of this remarkable account, was painstakingly written over months of living with Schweitzer, eating with him, listensing to his music, learning his philosophy and working with him in the nearby prehistoric operating room, an aging arena where all life was sacred. Berman provides us with a moving, in-depth portrait of one of this century's most remarkable men and of the provocative writer-physician who sought him out.