The Sparrow (signed by Mary Doria Russell)

First Edition, First Printing (Villard, New York, 1996). Fine in a fine dust jacket; presents as new. Signed by Russell on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. A wonderful copy. 

The author's literary debut. Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, The James Tiptree Jr. Award and the British Science Fiction Association Award. Although commonly views as a SciFi novel, some scholars consider that work to be a philosophical novel at it's core, "about the nature of good and evil and what happens when a man tries to do the right thing, for the right reasons and ends up causing incalculable harm." (Author Nancy Pearl, reviewing Sparrow in the Library Journal). 

The title references the Gospel of Matthew 10:29–31, which relates that not even a sparrow falls to the earth without God's knowledge and loving care.

In the year 2019, a SETI program discovers radio broadcasts of music from the region a around Alpha Centauri. The first expedition to the planet Rakhat, the world that is sending the music, is organized by the Society of Jesus, a Jesuits order known for its missionary, linguistic and scientific activities since the time of its founding. Decades later, in the year 2060, only a single member of the crew has survived the return to Earth, the Jesuit priest Emilio Sandoz. Sandoz is physically hurt and psychologically damaged. The story is told with parallel plot lines, interspersing the journey of Sandoz and his friends to Rakhat with Sandoz's experiences upon his return to Earth.

All first edition and printing points present: correct (photographer's name spelled as Ross rather than Rossi on rear flap; "karstic" on pg. 16, later corrected to "karst"; and "thirty-two feet per second" pg. 95, later corrected to "thirty-two feet per second per second." Octavo. 408 pp.