Odds and Ends

After leaving the Jesuits in 1962 Douglass McFerran returned to a career of teaching, first high school mathematics and then college philosophy. This was at a time when both the Catholic Church and the country itself were going through a turbulent period of change, and in a series of articles for the Catholic magazines America and Commonweal he offered provocative commentaries on both religion and politics. His first book appeared in 1972 under the pseudonym of David Farren and was followed by more works from major publishers. In this new volume he looks back at his long career and the manner in which his Jesuit background helps explain an underlying continuity.