Margaret Mead spent several months in Samoa researching her book Coming of Age in Samoa, a groundbreaking bestseller joining the public domain in 34 days.

After Mead died, her reports of the sex lives of Samoan adolescents were disputed by Derek Freeman, as well as by some Samoans. Samoan cultural norms had shifted notably by that time, though. Mainland American cultural norms have also shifted since 1928, as can be seen with this book and other works featured in our #PublicDomainDayCountdown.