Typee

'Typee' is fact loosely disguised as fiction; Herman Melville's first book, it gives an account of his time spent as the captive of a cannibal tribe on Nuku Hiva, a Polynesian island swarming with scantily-clad maidens. Controversial for its criticism of the Christian missionaries who attempted to 'civilise' the islanders, 'Typee' is a first rate piece of travel writing and cultural anthropology.