This book arose from Eruera Stirling's determination to pass on the traditional knowledge entrusted to him in his childhood by tribal elders, and from his wish to explain to a younger generation the deeper meanings of an ancestral way of life. In this outline of tribal history and of contemporary race relations, he discusses traditional concepts such as mana, matauranga and whakapapa. This award-winning biography also contains vivid descriptions of life in the Bay of Plenty in the era of whaling, maize cropping and kumara growing, and an account of his work with Sir Apirana Ngata.