Pacific Paradises is a story of cultures in collision. Trevor Lummis recreates the lives of Tahitian and Hawaiian islanders before and after the fateful arrival of the first Europeans and draws upon contemporary letters and diaries to uncover the narrow attitudes of the early explorers. Ironically, western society today embraces many aspects of the islanders' way of life. The noble savages may have been corrupted by so-called civilisation, but their values have survived