Kon-Tiki
Score Classic
What it's about
Biologist Thor Heyerdahl believed the South Sea islands had been settled by people sailing from South America. To prove it, in 1947 he and five companions sailed from Peru on a balsa-log raft modeled on ancient designs, and spent three months crossing 4,300 nautical miles of open Pacific, through storms and among whales and sharks, until they sighted Polynesia.
Why it's worth reading
It's one of the best-selling books ever, with about 20 million copies sold, and it spent 34 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It's one of the great true adventure stories.
You'll love it if you liked
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster, The Boys in the Boat or A Night to Remember
Good to know
Heyerdahl's theory has since been largely disproved by genetics, but the voyage was real. It's short and exciting.
Quick answers
Is Kon-Tiki worth reading?
Yes. It's one of the best-selling books ever, with about 20 million copies sold, and it spent 34 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. It ranks #735 of the 2,819 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 75.7 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Kon-Tiki about?
Biologist Thor Heyerdahl believed the South Sea islands had been settled by people sailing from South America. To prove it, in 1947 he and five companions sailed from Peru on a balsa-log raft modeled on ancient designs, and spent three months crossing 4,300 nautical miles of open Pacific, through storms and among whales and sharks, until they sighted Polynesia.
How long does it take to read Kon-Tiki?
About 8 hours (308 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Kon-Tiki?
If you liked it, try Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer, The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown or A Night to Remember by Walter Lord.
By the numbers
- Readers72 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller62 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
One of the best-selling books ever (about 20 million copies).
Where it ranks
- #113 of the 198 history books we rank
- #233 of the 763 classics we rank
- #735 of the 2,819 books we rank
Bestseller
- One of the best-selling books ever (about 20 million copies)
- #1 New York Times bestseller (34 weeks at #1)
Reads as
True story, Adventurous
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