Terry L. Hunt

I really enjoyed this book, it was interesting and informative. I have always been fascinated with Easter Island and its famous statues and now I know much more about them. The book draws on past research but brings that research up to date. I found the book well written and the material presented in a logical order. The book uses images such as photographs, maps and charts to illustrate the data but I would have liked to have seen more images. Overall the book is a fun read that told me the history of that amazing island and its incredible people.… (altro)

I cannot speak for anyone who does not have an acquaintance with the previous studies that have taken place. I don’t know how this book would feel to someone who did not have at least a passing understanding of, at the very least, some of Thor Heyerdahl’s work.

However, for me this was a fascinating next chapter in trying to understand just what happened on this small little island in the middle of the ocean.

The authors started their research with the idea that the studies wouldn’t add much more to what is already known – that things had been studied to death and that there was little chance of upsetting the currently conceived notions about Easter Island. But by looking a little deeper, by not necessarily accepting what had gone before, by opening up to other disciplines to bring new understanding, those notions fell by the wayside, and a new understanding of the original Easter Island inhabitants comes to light. A much fairer picture. A picture that is much more believable when we stop and think that they were human beings just like us.

As I say, if this is your first introduction to Easter Island, I can’t say you will find this entire book as fascinating as I did. But I also believe it is as good a place to start as any to begin the voyage of discovery.… (altro)