This site has several reviews of the book that I've been reading to get up-to-speed for our book discussion. Until I read Molokai, I must confess that about all I knew about leprosy came from the stories in the Bible.
Our book Molokai takes place after Father Damien's stay at the island. He was responsible for bringing medical care and humane treatment to the patients quarantined there.
This book by Tayman, describes in great detail the conditions on Molokai before Father Damien's arrival. Because the medical community was largely ignorant of the cause of leprosy and hadn't yet fully embraced the theory that germs cause illness, the well-meaning doctors tried many experimental and often painful treatments for their leprous patients.
The Hawaiians, on the other hand, still believed that their illnesses were caused by a god or gods whom they had angered, and were more likely to go to their own kahunas (priests) to seek healing than to a white doctor.
The Colony is a well-written and well-researched description of the grim early years at Molokai which preceded our chracters' arrival.
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