The confessions of a beachcomber has been celebrated by romantics the world over as everyone's ideal of living on a deserted tropical island. Today, it's scientific detail of the area's unique beauty earns it a special place among naturalists. Humorous and anecdotal, philosophical and poetic, this is a delightful ode to a paradise found. An introduction by Banfield's biographer Michael Noonan sets the scene for the story of a man who escaped to the island and "shook the dust of civilisation off his feet".