Pocket Guide to Britain Book

We had a power outage with a winter storm the other day so I looked around my bookshelves and came across a book I was fascinated with many years ago and decided to read it again. The book is Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl. The hardcover book I have was published in 1950. It was given to me by my mother for my birthday in 1950. I read this book at least twice a year in the fifties and sixties, but somehow it got put aside. This book is one of the key items that helped me decide on a career in the sciences with secondary interest in archaeology and anthropology. Of course, early on I studied primarily marine sciences and biology.

The book is well written with lots of photographs. The voyage of the Kon-Tiki took place in 1947. The part I liked best was the descriptions of the sea life that came around the raft. This time I was more intrigued with how the raft functioned and how the ancient people of Peru came about to design it in a certain way and why they chose the certain woods they used. Many times, after reading a book that I had enjoyed, I no longer like it and wonder what I saw in it. But that is not the case with this book. I was as fascinated with my current reading as I was back in the 1950s. I did note that they saw no garbage and no plastics floating in the water. Today that is a big problem when sailing the oceans. If you are looking for a different adventure, give this book a try.

I read this as a hardcover book that is 308 pages. Published in 1950 by Rand McNally & Company.