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| 8 Men and a Duck : An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island | 
 enlarge | Author: Nick Thorpe
Publisher: Free Press
Category: Book
List Price: $13.00
Buy New: $1.96
You Save: $11.04 (85%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $1.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  (8 reviews)
Sales Rank: 1170848
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0743243099
Dewey Decimal Number: 910
EAN: 9780743243094
ASIN: 0743243099
Publication Date: June 2, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Even with the wind on our side and all eight of us pulling, we had never yet managed to change the complex sails....Now we had to pull against the full force of the wind, in a storm, in the middle of the night....So begins Nick Thorpe's unlikely journey to sail 2,500 miles from northern Chile to Easter Island on the Viracocha -- a boat made of reeds. Captain Phil Buck's desire to test the waters in this pre-Incan boat was twofold: to reopen the controversial migration theories of Thor Heyerdahl, who sailed his boat the Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 1947, and to have one heck of a time in the process. With a crew that includes a tree surgeon, a jewelry salesman, and two ducks, Thorpe embarks on an unnerving Pacific voyage that is by turns fierce and farce: from the bungled phone call that triggered a naval rescue alert to the constant race against the inexorable sinking of the soggy hull. A story of high tides and even higher stakes, 8 Men and a Duck is a tale of friendship, fate, and the unlikely distances people will travel for true adventure.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Very fun book May 13, 2004
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I first previewed this book in an online book club, and the writing and the topic immediately caught my attention. Mr. Thorpe writes with exquisite talent. His style is informative, humorous and very introspective at the same time. The book follows an adventurous group of 8 men who take a reed boat into the Pacific so they can sail it to Easter Island. What really impressed aside from great storytelling, is that way the author draws the portraits of himself and his crewmates.
It's a great book to pick up for a weekend read; I read it in two sittings. :-)
Nick Thorpe's Incredible Journey January 9, 2004
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's an old adage that it's not the destination that matters, but the journey. This much is a cliche, but this much is true, and Nick Thorpe's fabulous, vastly entertaining and thoughtful book `Eight Men and a Duck' is all the proof you need. Thorpe is an English journalist, who while on one of those too good to be true writing gigs when a newspaper paid him to bum around South America happened upon a tall tale about a reed boat about to leave Chile for Easter Island.So the journalist's mind kicked in - let's investigate. Soon, without planning it, Thorpe found himself becoming more than just an observer, as a place on this incredible journey fell into his lap. Some discussion with his wife (you know, `I love you, I might never see you again, is that ok?') later, and the - let's say `unswarthy' Englishman (look at the photos in the book) was off to sea with a rogue's gallery of shipmates straight out of Captain Pugwash. The book takes us on the journey with them, in the race against time they created for themselves by building a boat out of reeds that will eventually sink. It's a journey that involves the Chilean Navy, good and bad weather, esoteric Frenchmen, weird food, and the very nature of friendship itself. This is not just a book about the technicalities of ancient sea-travel (though there's enough of that to interest even the most hardy of land-locked readers), or the existential joys and angst of a dangerous and beautiful journey, but a tremendously rich sketch of what men are like when they get together. If you've ever wanted to take a risk, but feel seasick at the thought, then you may just love this book. Witty, self-deprecating, but alive with a thirst for the journey, Thorpe's writing is among the most engaging prose I've ever encountered. He has the wit of Bill Bryson and the eye for detail that Paul Theroux must pride himself on, but the voice is all his own. For duck-lovers, misty-eyed seafarers, religiously sceptic mystics, child-like wanderers and anyone who's ever gone travelling to `find themselves', `Eight Men and a Duck' is a joy from start to finish.
 A Great Adventure By Inexperienced Characters September 4, 2003
While the start of the book is a dash slow being focused on the building of the actual craft and pulling a crew together, it soon picks up and races across the Pacific. The author has an incredible sense for wording which oft makes this non-fiction read like pure poetry. If only we all could be so eloquent, english would then remain a beautiful language. The book is pleasantly lacking an overload of technical know-how and expertise as so many adventure books can be. Rather than bog the reader down with intricate details, the author keeps the story alive and fresh with emotions ranging from the struggle against the elements while being entirely out of his own element to the intricacies of life aboard a small vessel for two months with complete strangers who don't always mix well but eventually bond enough as a cohesive family and team to survive. It becomes entertaining after the first two chapters but is inspiring throughout. This book offers evidence to what can be done when one has a dream no matter how silly the dream or how high the obstacles loom. A great account of a fantastic adventure that not many would dare to take or be able to pull off.
 "Kon-Tiki" Was Much Better June 11, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The shadow of the more nobly conceived and executed "Kon-Tiki" hangs over this book, although "8 Men and a Duck" still offers a vicarious opportunity for thrilling and exotic adventure. Many things inevitably go wrong on such a voyage, but this group of fellows were so unprepared, both technically and emotionally, that it was almost a surprise when anything went right. Their ineptitude is somewhat frustrating to read about. Don't they make them like Thor Hyerdahl any more?
Sailing in Heyerdahl's wake. May 31, 2003
A chance remark, and Nick Thorpe bluffs his way onto an expedition to support Thor Heyerdahl's theory that Easter Island was originally colonised by Amerindians prior to the wave of Polynesians.
When he discovers that the crew has no navigator and minimal sailing experience, he is intrigued rather than disillusioned and he throws himself wholeheartedly into the project. The same cannot be said of other members, or the organiser, who couldn't organise a binge in a brewery.
Accusations of cheating from a rival deflate morale so much, they are in danger of missing the favourable winds. The vitriolic attack also undermines his support and funding and endangers the credibility of the whole exercise. Thankfully, all obstacles are overcome, so there is only the voyage to complete. This is almost a shambles, due to the lackadaisical captain and the gung-ho exploits of some of the crew. Boredom, superstition and deep-seated prejudices provide fuel for some 'interesting' episodes.
The book is more about relationships and experiences than anthropological archaeology, unlike the books by Severin & Heyerdahl, but if you accept this limitation, the result is a rollicking good tale. The humour is low-key and understated, but there is very little technical information; however a couple of appendices partly address that quibble.
All in all, a good read.****
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