[Thor Heyerdahl] wrote a book about a raft which will not soon be forgotten. It is unreasonable to expect an equal success when the same gifts are employed in the same way on a subject involving, much more than mere adventure, a difficult and intricate scientific experiment. [Aku-Aku] brings home a brilliant outline of Easter Island and its present inhabitants. It closes with a whimsical dialogue between the author and his aku-aku [guardian spirit], concerning the relation between archaeological fact and speculation, which admits in effect some weakness in his treatment in these pages of his central problem. There is little doubt that he made some important discoveries. It is time for him to throw away his glowing colours and report in black and white exactly what they amount to.

"Island of the Stone Men," in The Times Literary Supplement (© Times Newspapers Ltd. (London) 1958; reproduced from The Times...