Sea People Audiobook By Christina Thompson cover art

Sea People

The Puzzle of Polynesia

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Sea People

By: Christina Thompson
Narrated by: Susan Lyons
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.29

Buy for $24.29

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

A blend of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel and Simon Winchester’s Pacific, a thrilling, intellectual detective story that looks deep into the past to uncover who first settled the islands of the remote Pacific, where they came from, how they got there, and how we know.

For more than a millennium, Polynesians have occupied the remotest islands in the Pacific Ocean, a vast triangle stretching from Hawaii to New Zealand to Easter Island. Until the arrival of European explorers, they were the only people to have ever lived there. Both the most closely related and the most widely dispersed people in the world before the era of mass migration, Polynesians can trace their roots to a group of epic voyagers who ventured out into the unknown in one of the greatest adventures in human history.

How did the earliest Polynesians find and colonize these far-flung islands? How did a people without writing or metal tools conquer the largest ocean in the world? This conundrum, which came to be known as the Problem of Polynesian Origins, emerged in the 18th century as one of the great geographical mysteries of mankind.

For Christina Thompson, this mystery is personal: Her Maori husband and their sons descend directly from these ancient navigators. In Sea People, Thompson explores the fascinating story of these ancestors, as well as those of the many sailors, linguists, archaeologists, folklorists, biologists, and geographers who have puzzled over this history for 300 years.

A masterful mix of history, geography, anthropology, and the science of navigation, Sea People combines the thrill of exploration with the drama of discovery in a vivid tour of one of the most captivating regions in the world.

©2019 Christina Thompson (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers
Anthropology Australia, New Zealand & Oceania Cultural & Regional Expeditions & Discoveries Oceania Social Sciences Thought-Provoking Discovery Polynesian History
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Sea People

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    748
  • 4 Stars
    213
  • 3 Stars
    53
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    685
  • 4 Stars
    156
  • 3 Stars
    36
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    660
  • 4 Stars
    163
  • 3 Stars
    50
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thorough Analysis & Culturally Respectful

Culturally respectful and scientifically thorough analysis with a captivating storytelling style. Just enough of the author's personal insights to add warmth to an overwhelming amount of information and data.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sea Dreams

This was a fantastic book. A chronological account of the discovery of the origins of the Polynesians and how they traveled the vast Pacific. Fascinating hearing how the first Europeans studied these people and marveled at what they had accomplished. It’s almost supernatural.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Listens like fiction; good book!

Glad I found this book! Really enjoyable. I prefer fiction but story was very well composed and compelling.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

This is a wonderful story of past peoples. Well worth the read/listen! I’m going to listen again to help absorb the big picture.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An excellently told, unique history book!

A very unique way of telling the story of how the rest of the world came to understand the history of the Polynesians. You learn what was learned about them in the chronological order of the different discoveries.

In the end, I really learned as much about the evolution of archeology and it's associated science, as I did about the Polynesians themselves.

Add to this that the narrator is very engaging, and really kept me coming back to see how our understanding of the Polynesian people unfolded. People throw around the word unique, but this really is a one of a kind way of approaching the unraveling of a people's history. I can't recommend this book enough.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very informative.

I certainly learned a lot from this book. That being said it wasn’t as entertaining as I was hoping. It reads a lot like a college anthropology textbook. If that’s your jam then you’ll love this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Terrific!

The best nonfiction I've listened to in a long time. Hit the perfect balance of details- enough to make the book interesting and compelling, but did not get bogged down in tedious tangents. Well organized and clearly presented. Narrator was excellent too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Memories

I grew up in Hawaii during a lot of those times and was very aware of the people and activities. There is so much to learn about and from the Hawaiian people and culture. Some of my best times were those with a Hawaiian family I knew. So many wonderful interesting lessons to learn and experiences to have.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great overview

excellent info, well organized and delivered in this audiobook. provides a great overview of the quest for understanding of the Polynesian people's. wish it had a bit more specific history of each island.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best nonfiction history book I’ve read in a while

This is great book for anyone interested in the history of Polynesia migration throughout the pacific islands, the first contacts with European explorers, and the various theories as to how those people navigated the vast expanse of the ocean and settled nearly every island between Samoa and Rapa Nui. The book is well organized and the narrator is superb. Excellent book and performance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!