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Sea People
Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia | Christina Thompson
14 posts | 10 read | 11 to read
A blend of Jared Diamonds Guns, Germs, and Steel and Simon Winchesters Pacific, a thrilling intellectual detective story that looks deep into the past to uncover who first settled the islands of the remote Pacific, where they came from, how they got there, and how we know. For more than a millennium, Polynesians have occupied the remotest islands in the Pacific Ocean, a vast triangle stretching from Hawaii to New Zealand to Easter Island. Until the arrival of European explorers they were the only people to have ever lived there. Both the most closely related and the most widely dispersed people in the world before the era of mass migration, Polynesians can trace their roots to a group of epic voyagers who ventured out into the unknown in one of the greatest adventures in human history. How did the earliest Polynesians find and colonize these far-flung islands? How did a people without writing or metal tools conquer the largest ocean in the world? This conundrum, which came to be known as the Problem of Polynesian Origins, emerged in the eighteenth century as one of the great geographical mysteries of mankind. For Christina Thompson, this mystery is personal: her Maori husband and their sons descend directly from these ancient navigators. In Sea People, Thompson explores the fascinating story of these ancestors, as well as those of the many sailors, linguists, archaeologists, folklorists, biologists, and geographers who have puzzled over this history for three hundred years. A masterful mix of history, geography, anthropology, and the science of navigation, Sea People combines the thrill of exploration with the drama of discovery in a vivid tour of one of the most captivating regions in the world. Sea People includes an 8-page photo insert, illustrations throughout, and 2 endpaper maps.
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KristiAhlers
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For #ReadingOceania2024 I selected this incredible read for #FrenchPolynesia. There is so much information here...history, culture, legends. Highly recommend this book if you have an interest in reading about this topic @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

Librarybelle On my to read list! 1mo
46 likes1 stack add1 comment
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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This was wonderful! I learned a ton and really enjoyed the journey through all the different theories of how the Polynesians came to be. My absolute favourite part was the description of the journey by traditional navigational techniques and the young Hawaiian guy that learned how to do it in his own way, using his gut. There is just so so much we don't know or understand about human intuition and ways of sensing things. A highly recommended read.

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jlhammar
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This was a great listen. Really interesting. Ancient Polynesians successfully settled nearly all of the world‘s far-flung islands long before Europeans had the technology to visit. Where had they come from and why? How was this possible? Thompson explores this fascinating history and mystery of Polynesian navigation.

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K.Wielechowski
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Fantastic books! Thompson describes the many theories behind the discovery and settling of the Polynesian islands, both of the first people and of the Europeans.

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K.Wielechowski
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“Eddie would go”
I knew Eddie Aikau was lost on a trans-Pacific canoe trip but I didn‘t realize the significance of the trip until it was covered in this book.

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stevesbookstuf1
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Thanks for the #Top21of21 tag @DrexEdit! Not quite 21, but here's all my 5 Star reads of 2021:

And Here: 100 Years of Upper Peninsula Writing - Rekki
End of the Myth - Grandin
Ghostways - MacFarlane
Only Plane in the Sky - Graff
Sea People - Thompson
Greatest Beer Run Ever - Donohue
Human Cosmos - Marchant
Riding the Edge - Tobin
Swim in a Pond in the Rain - Saunders
Last Stargazers - Levesque
Miracle Country - Atleework
Elder Race - Tchaikovsky

stevesbookstuf1 I guess you can tell I've favored nonfiction this year!

Grandin's The End of the Myth is my #1 book - I learned so much by reading this and it helped to give some context to the confusing national events of the last few years. They have a history...

Graff's The Only Plane in the Sky is my #1 audiobook. Listening is the way to go on this one - it was a very emotional, powerful experience and brought back many of the feelings from that awful day.
2y
Graywacke Terrific list! A lot of these titles are new to me and sound fascinating. The Sea People, the Human Cosmos, the Saunders. Noting The End of the Myth too. 2y
stevesbookstuf1 ... and Thompson's Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia is probably the book I've recommended most this year...

Sorry, I'll stop talking now... 😃
2y
DrexEdit Wonderful list! I've got my eye on that George Saunders. The more I read of his, the more I like him! Seems like you couldn't go wrong with Russian writers/Saunders. 😊 2y
13 likes4 comments
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JSW
Pickpick

Intriguing review of the history, science, culture, mythology, anthropology, custom, oral tradition, and colonial perspectives that attempt to understand the wayfinders and peoples of the Pacific. Only small quibbles: the perpetual naming of the focus of the book on the “problem” of who and how the people settled in Polynesia was the most annoying. Otherwise fascinating read.

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JSW
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Reading about great ocean voyages while looking at the creek behind my home. ❤️

Bklover Sooooo pretty!! 5y
ferskner That looks unbelievably comfortable! 5y
28 likes2 comments
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JSW

Now I want to go to Polynesia.

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Hooked_on_books
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An interesting look at the people of Polynesia (including #Hawaii) as relates to their origins and their interactions with white explorers. This book acknowledges that it is looking at this history from the white gaze as well as the problems inherent in that approach. I enjoyed it and learned a lot about this extraordinary group of people.

#ReadingUSA2019

Librarybelle I‘ve seen this book a lot lately...stacking this! 5y
51 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Hooked_on_books
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I finally got my new library card! I‘m super excited, and this is my first stack. Now I need to go hunt through their online books. 😬

Eyelit Fantastic! (edited) 5y
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howjessicareads
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Do I spend way too much time google image searching various islands? MAYBE. (Go google Tristan da Cunha right now. You‘ll never believe it.) #howjessreadsin2019

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howjessicareads
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Home with a sick kiddo today. So attempting to knock out the rest of this and get its review done... gotta be a little productive if I‘m missing work. 😝

CouronneDhiver Poor kiddo 😕 5y
cobwebmoth Hope kiddo feels better soon! 5y
howjessicareads @CouronneDhiver @cobwebmoth Thanks! She‘s a snot-covered mess. Good thing she‘s cute. 😂😂 5y
89 likes2 stack adds3 comments