Looking like nothing so much as a fifties-style textbook, Tahiti-part of a massive "Cultures of the World" series, is a surprisingly interesting compendium of information. All the usual geographic, historical, political, etc. information has been compiled. What's eye-opening are the droll sidebars. Why did the original European ship of discovery nearly fall apart when the Tahitians expressed an overwhelming interest in nails? How does the comfortable current population of transvestites relate to ancient Tahitian customs? Why is urine the remedy for sea urchin stings? Such subversive tidbits could get any kid to read the rest of the text.