Sea People : In Search of the Ancient Navigators of the Pacific

Acclaimed as the winner of the 2020 Australian Prime Minister's Literary Award for non-fiction and the 2019 NSW Premier's History Awards for general history, this meticulously researched and elegantly composed work has garnered high praise. Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan, hails it as "Wonderfully researched and beautifully written," while Dava Sobel, author of Longitude, commends its ability to "Succeed in conjuring a lost world."

For over a millennium, the Polynesian people have inhabited the most remote islands of the Pacific Ocean, a vast triangular expanse stretching from Hawaii to New Zealand to Easter Island. Until the arrival of European explorers, they were the sole inhabitants of this region. Simultaneously the most closely related and the most widely dispersed population in the world prior to the era of mass migration, Polynesians can trace their ancestry to a group of intrepid voyagers who embarked on one of the greatest adventures in human history, venturing into the unknown.

How did the earliest Polynesians discover and colonise these far-flung islands? How did a people without writing or metal tools manage to conquer the largest ocean on Earth? This enigma, which came to be known as the Problem of Polynesian Origins, emerged in the eighteenth century as one of the great geographical mysteries of humankind. For Christina Thompson, this mystery holds personal significance: her Maori husband and their sons descend directly from these ancient navigators. In Sea People, Thompson delves into the captivating story of these ancestors, as well as the tales of the numerous sailors, linguists, archaeologists, folklorists, biologists, and geographers who have grappled with this history for three hundred years. A masterful blend of history, geography, anthropology, and the science of navigation, Sea People offers a vivid tour of one of the most enthralling regions in the world.

Product Information:

Book ISBN:	9780008339050
Book Author:	Christina Thompson
Book Format:	Paperback / softback
Book Imprint:	William Collins
Book Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Book Dimensions:	129 x 198 x 27 cm
Book Publication Date:	2020-05-03
Book Pagination:	384 pages
Book Weight:	352g