Rao must have got an original! Wow!
I picked up the reprint from a few years ago, which is probably what Amazon's offering. It's one of those "facsimile" reprints that does up the whole book as it originally looked in 1941, except for a foreword and certain other cosmetic changes.
It's a solid read, and a must if you're at all into the evolution of Superman history, as it offers some variations on the origin, etc, some of which were adopted into the mythos (comics, radio and TV) and others that weren't. Also it's always fun to see Superman go up against Nazis (homefront saboteurs in this case).
It's been a while since I read it, but here's the brief review I wrote on my site when I finished it:
The Adventures of Superman
by George Lowther
First published in 1942, this novel deals with Superman's origin before settling into a wartime tale of Nazi saboteurs and "haunted" shipyards, with rescues and super-feats galore. Written by "Adventures of Superman" radio show scriptwriter George Lowther, the book establishes many details of the Superman legend for the first time, some of which will be adopted into the canon, the rest altered and tweaked in later years but still owing a debt to Lowther. Included here are the first references to "Jor-el and Lara" (as opposed to the original Jor-L and Lora) and the first recorded account of Superman's childhood on the Kent farm. Superman co-creator Joe Shuster provides the illustrations, some in the form of painted color plates. Originally marketed as a kid's book, it's been recreated down to the dust jacket and typeface by Applewood books.
If you want to save a couple bucks, check out the prices at
http://www.abebooks.com