Sea People

The Puzzle of Polynesia

By: Christina Thompson

Narrated by: Susan Lyons

Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

A blend of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel and Simon Winchester’s 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 18th 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 300 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.

©2019 Christina Thompson (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Thorough Analysis & Culturally Respectful

Culturally respectful and scientifically thorough analysis with a captivating storytelling style. Just enough of the author's personal insights to add warmth to an overwhelming amount of information and data.

Sea Dreams

This was a fantastic book. A chronological account of the discovery of the origins of the Polynesians and how they traveled the vast Pacific. Fascinating hearing how the first Europeans studied these people and marveled at what they had accomplished. It’s almost supernatural.

Listens like fiction; good book!

Glad I found this book! Really enjoyable. I prefer fiction but story was very well composed and compelling.

Amazing

This is a wonderful story of past peoples. Well worth the read/listen! I’m going to listen again to help absorb the big picture.

An excellently told, unique history book!

A very unique way of telling the story of how the rest of the world came to understand the history of the Polynesians. You learn what was learned about them in the chronological order of the different discoveries.

In the end, I really learned as much about the evolution of archeology and it's associated science, as I did about the Polynesians themselves.

Add to this that the narrator is very engaging, and really kept me coming back to see how our understanding of the Polynesian people unfolded. People throw around the word unique, but this really is a one of a kind way of approaching the unraveling of a people's history. I can't recommend this book enough.

Very informative.

I certainly learned a lot from this book. That being said it wasn’t as entertaining as I was hoping. It reads a lot like a college anthropology textbook. If that’s your jam then you’ll love this book.

Terrific!

The best nonfiction I've listened to in a long time. Hit the perfect balance of details- enough to make the book interesting and compelling, but did not get bogged down in tedious tangents. Well organized and clearly presented. Narrator was excellent too.

Memories

I grew up in Hawaii during a lot of those times and was very aware of the people and activities. There is so much to learn about and from the Hawaiian people and culture. Some of my best times were those with a Hawaiian family I knew. So many wonderful interesting lessons to learn and experiences to have.

Great overview

excellent info, well organized and delivered in this audiobook. provides a great overview of the quest for understanding of the Polynesian people's. wish it had a bit more specific history of each island.

Best nonfiction history book I’ve read in a while

This is great book for anyone interested in the history of Polynesia migration throughout the pacific islands, the first contacts with European explorers, and the various theories as to how those people navigated the vast expanse of the ocean and settled nearly every island between Samoa and Rapa Nui. The book is well organized and the narrator is superb. Excellent book and performance.