Rediscovering Easter Island: How History Is Invented

by Kathy Pelta

Discusses the many visits made by explorers, missionaries, businessmen, scientists, and others to Easter Island since the late 1600s and what they revealed about life on this remote Pacific island.

112 pages, Library Binding

First published February 1, 2001

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Picked this up because I caught a glimpse of the cover at the end of the shelf and I thought, “why NOT?” I remembered a school presentation on it being interesting. Anyway, this book is written in a very easy to read format/style that is not at all dry, which is great, because the stuff about Easter Island is actually, to me, a lot of build up to a lot of sadness. Its history is an interesting study in how humans do things. The thing I really found lacking was the lack of any kind of detail toward how the people lived daily lives and the lack of nuance to their responses and interactions with visitors. I realize that in the earlier parts of the book, that is impossible, however, the more modern pieces could have used that expounding. I would’ve liked to have known more about what the priest saw and and experienced with the people to get a better picture of the Rapanui.

[Rachel G · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good basic history of this fascinating island.