author
Giovanni Battista Cerruti
1850–1914
An Italian explorer and travel writer, he turned years of seafaring and life in Southeast Asia into vivid first-hand books. His best-known work shares his encounters with Sakai communities in the Malay Peninsula and the sense of wonder that drew him far from home.
1 Audiobook
My Friends the Savages Notes and Observations of a Perak settler (Malay Peninsula)
by Giovanni Battista Cerruti
About the author
Born in Varazze, Italy, on November 28, 1850, he went to sea while still young, first as a cabin boy and later on longer voyages that took him far beyond Europe. Sources describe him as an explorer who spent significant time in Southeast Asia, especially in the Malay Peninsula.
He is remembered today mainly for My Friends the Savages, a book based on his experiences among Sakai communities in Perak. The work blends travel narrative with observation, giving modern readers a direct glimpse of how he saw the people, places, and daily life around him.
He died in Penang on June 28, 1914. Although not a widely known literary figure now, his writing remains interesting for readers who enjoy travel memoirs, exploration history, and firsthand accounts from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.