Headhunters on My Doorstep

A True Treasure Island Ghost Story

By: J. Maarten Troost

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Entertainment Weekly calls acclaimed author and essayist J. Maarten Troost a "funny, candid, and down-to-earth travel companion". Both witty and poignant, Headhunters on My Doorstep follows Troost as he retraces Robert Louis Stevenson’s path through the South Pacific. Somewhere between AA meetings in Tahiti and discovering how the Island of Merrymaking got its name, Troost reconnects with himself, his family, and the beauty of life.

©2013 J. Maarten Troost (P)2013 Recorded Books

Another Informative Book by Maaaaarten!

Where does Headhunters on My Doorstep rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the better audiobooks I have listened to. I learned a lot about alcoholism (which may have been the point of his book along with a contractual requirement from the publisher) as well as the travels and stories of RLS. I liked the English accent of the reader.

J Maarten Troost is an incredible travel writer

His experiences mirror so many of my experiences around the world that sometimes I feel like I am reading my own story. As for those that don't like the fact that he poured his heart out about his battle with alcoholism,they have obviously never suffered from the disease. People just want to read about the romantic dream of escapism and not the pitfalls along the journey. Unfortunately, traveling always has its ups and downs and his writings about his battles and victories are mixed in well together.

Disappointed

I loved Sex Lives of Cannibals, and very much liked Getting Stoned with Savages but this book really lacked something. I am tempted to use the word "boring". The narrator sounded as he was ready to slip into a stupor at times.

Surprising and valuable

The narration is perfect for the range of this book. The range of the book is more than expected and very rewarding.

brilliant performance

Vance adds humor to the story. Sex Lives of Cannibals is still my favorite though.

very different, but as good as the others

it is about travel, but also the struggle with addiction. I found it entertaining and well done.

Love this kind of travelogue

Well written just like his other books. Just sarcastic enough with a dose of humility and fun. Great listen and loved it! listen to his other books first before you end with this one...

An all-round, enjoyable experience.

I really enjoyed listening to this book. While it isn't the funniest humor or the most coherent travelogue, it was very good.
I really enjoyed the memoir aspects of this book.
I had no idea how little I knew about the South Pacific. I found myself pouring over maps and searching out information on the rising oceans and ecological disasters. This book was invaluable in widening my horizons there.
I'm going to go on and read some more of his books.

Twisted Humour in the South Pacific~

If you enjoyed the Sex Lives of Cannibals then you will enjoy this book as well - although that one was much better than this one. The title is a little off - didn't seem to correlate to the overall story. The writer does a great job in portraying his true colours when confronting his addiction to alcohol but this wasn't anything I saw coming when reading the synopsis. His wit in dealing with this addiction is bittersweet.

He does a fine job of portraying some of the interesting geography of the Marquesas, Fukarawa,Tahiti, Fiji and back to his first experience with the far South Pacific, Kirabati. He even ties in some interesting points on writer Robert Louis Stevenson (things I had no idea about) and finally ending up in Samoa at Stevenson's grave. I've always thought that Tahiti would be on my list of places to travel to some day, along with Fuji but now, I have a new fascination with the Marquesas too now.

I've not read Getting Stoned with Savages but if it's anything like Sex Lives, it's on my readying list now.

Not as good as the previous books

Worth the "read" but with previous books I could (and did) re-read them, this one I won't