Easter Island : The Mystery Solved

Library Journal

The title of this book is somewhat redundant, for in 1955 Heyerdahl made his first trip to Easter Island and wrote Aku-Aku: The Secret of Easter Island ( LJ 9/1/58), a popular account of his excavation of the remote Pacific island with its now famous monumental stone statues. In this new book, the occasion for his return to Easter Island after 30 years, Heyerdahl tells the history of the island through the eyes of explorers and travelers, from its discovery by the Dutch in 1722, through Heyerdahl's latest visit in 1986, during which he and his staff resumed limited excavations, and aided by residents and their recall of ancient myths, resolved the puzzle of how the statues had ``walked'' from the quarries to their places on the island. This book emphasizes the validity of oral tradition in reconstructing the history of a culture and gives due respect to the Easter Islanders and their ancestors. Richly illustrated, it belongs in appropriate history and archaelogy collections.-- Joan W. Gartland, Detroit P.L.