The Aran Islands lie off Western Ireland. All three are small—wastes of rock—without trees—without soil. In winter storms they are almost smothered by the sea, which, because of the peculiar shelving of the coast, piles up into one of the most gigantic seas ever witnessed by man. This unique book is at once vivid autobiography and the dramatic story behind Robert Flaherty's magnificent film "Man of Aran," produced in 1934. It is an epic saga of the heroic struggle of the Aran Islanders in an elemental environment. Pat Mullen was one of the actors in the film; but his part was more than that of acting. He was the intermediary between the producer and the islanders, who made the film possible; and much of its spirit is derived from Mullen's own character. There are the experiences and the philosophy of the islanders themselves, and finally the impact of the dynamic Robert Flaherty upon their isolation in the Atlantic seas. It is an epic story sparkling with true Celtic humor. "You say we are primitive. We are. Just primitive men and women left behind by what you call progress. But we are happy. It is not the happiness of ignorance, for we are our own masters. Our work on this film is the first we have done for any man. The only master we have ever known is the sea." —"Tiger" King, Robert Flaherty's "man of Aran"