For those who grew up in the Pacific and particularly those who have had large exposure to Polynesian communities this book will beguile and bewitch you. The tales are all gripping and seem to offer access to the inner world of cultures so rarely spoken about. Jack London's empathy is seen so clearly through these stories. This novel goes a long way in staking a claim for pacific narratives as worthy of mainstream consciousness. Reading this along with a book like Typee or Omoo also shows the progression in America's view and regard of Polynesia. In contrast to Melville's myopic interpretation of 'the savages", London seems to be able to inhabit the minds of the noble people of the Pacific and paint them as the honourable men and women they are, compared to the often savage and bestial Caucasians.