A Yankee doctor in paradise

Set in the late 1920s, the memoir follows an American physician who trades California streets for the islands of Fiji and Papua. Fresh from a Rockefeller posting, he lands amid sugar plantations, fire‑walkers, and bustling colonial clubs, where his medical duties meet the lives of British officials, New Zealand diplomats, and local practitioners. The narrative is peppered with vivid anecdotes—from canoe trips through swamps to evenings at the Fiji Club—capturing both the beauty of the South Pacific and the quirks of the expatriate community.

As he battles hookworm, malaria, and the logistical nightmares of early transport, he learns to navigate cultural misunderstandings with humor and humility. Correspondence with mentors like Dr. Victor Heiser offers steady guidance, while friendships with characters such as the outspoken Malakai and the irrepressible Byron Beach add warmth to his solitary wanderings. Listeners get a portrait of a man striving to bring modern medicine to remote islands while being swept up in the unexpected dramas of colonial life.