Eruera Stirling was an elder of the Whanau-a-Apanui tribe in Auckland. His autobiography, with commentary by award-winning writer Anne Salmond, arises from his determination to pass on his traditional tribal knowledge and to explain to a younger generation the deeper meanings of an ancestral way of life. In an outline of tribal history and of recent events in New Zealand race relations, he discusses such traditional concepts as mana (spiritual power), matauranga (knowledge), and whakapapa (genealogy), and he explains the customs of the rahui (reserve), taua (raiding party), and haka (war dance). There is a vivid description 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.