Review
WL Rating
Kon-Tiki records Thor Heyerdahl’s 4,000+ mile journey across the Pacific Ocean on a balsa raft to prove that Polynesia had been peopled by an ancient Peruvian race. This is a classic book that caused a happy sensation when it was published. The book was eventually translated into more than sixty-five languages, and was the impetus for a museum by the same name in Oslo. I decide to pick this up again since it had been more than twenty years since my original reading. While the book’s language feels dated and there are now funny passages originally intended to instill drama (repeatedly describing a gentle plankton eating whale shark as a monster for example), the fundamental story is excellent. My original paperback version is complete with more than 80 photos that document the journey including the somewhat now politically incorrect activity of capturing dozens of blue sharks for sport and “safety”. While I enjoyed the less famous rafting journey Seaworthy more than Kon-Tiki, there’s no doubt that this is a classic book that’s worth a read. Definitely a WL Essential. (December 2008)
Kon-Tiki - Thor Heyerdahl
