[Kon-Tiki] is a mystery story—although there is no crime beyond the polite defiance of "sound advice," no plot except a problem of long-distance transport by raft, no solution to an ethnological question that has intrigued men since Magellan, Querios, and Cook explored the Pacific Ocean. Here, too, is an adventure story—for it is an extraordinary record of men drifting 4,000 miles on the sea amidst unforeseen perils, under a world of stars. And here is fine descriptive writing.

Thor Heyerdahl sought evidence to support a theory. That seeking brought about as remarkable a journey as the 20th century has witnessed. It will be a rare reader who will be able to put the book down once he has read beyond the first page. For the author opens his exciting narrative midway through the 101-day odyssey of six men on a raft in the Pacific. And once aboard...