Summary:
The book chronicles the 1947 expedition of a Norwegian explorer and his crew as they sail across the Pacific Ocean on a balsa wood raft to demonstrate the possibility of ancient sea travel between South America and Polynesia. It details the challenges they face, from building the raft to navigating the vast ocean, and the anthropological theories that inspired the journey.
Key points:
1. Polynesian Migration Theory: "Kon-Tiki" suggests Polynesians originated from South America, not Asia, as commonly believed. Heyerdahl's raft journey aimed to prove this.
Books similar to "Kon-Tiki ":
Sea People
Christina Thompson
Blue Latitudes
Tony Horwitz
The Sex Lives of Cannibals
J. Maarten Troost
Farther Than Any Man
Martin Dugard
Origin
Jennifer Raff
America Before
Graham Hancock
Walking The Himalayas
Levison Wood
A Land So Strange
Andrés Reséndez
River Kings
Cat Jarman
1491
Charles C. Mann