Could a "paper boat," an ancient Egyptian papyrus craft, cross the
Atlantic to America? He's not out to prove a theory, Heyerdahl
insists, just to demonstrate possibility; but his observation of
similar specialized craft in the Andes, Easter Island, Mexico,
Central Africa and Ethiopia, along with his inclination toward
diffusionism (the notion that cultures spread to America rather
than arising indigenously), becomes the argument that what might
have been was. Professed disinterest and intrusive theorizing
aside, the voyages on Ra I and II (Ra for the Egyptian sun-god,
also the word for sun among Pacific peoples) differ from the
Kon-Tiki venture in ways that will deter readers: the crew is
contrivedly multi-ethnic, so that instead of natural we have
national tensions, and mediation instead of accommodation; the sea
fails to produce the wealth of curious creatures that constantly
surprised before; and Ra I, after lingering along the African
coast, losing its steering gear and sinking steadily at the stern,
is obviously a loser, for all its vaunted buoyancy, though not a
lost cause: Ra II will hew more closely to ancient practice newly
understood. On the second voyage, telescoped here, good seamanship
and fellowship assure success. Livelier and generally more
interesting are Heyerdahl's escapades (in Richard Halliburton
fashion) among the 'natives'; at one point he triumphs in a Chad
dance marathon, at another he hides overnight on a cloistered
Coptic island, all to gain materiel and know-how for his boat.
Sixty-four pages of color photos are providentially provided; they
contribute verisimilitude and vitality to what tends often to seem
a stunt. (Kirkus Reviews)
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