--- product_id: 66829090 title: "Kon-Tiki" price: "SAR 18" currency: SAR in_stock: false reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.com.sa/products/66829090-kon-tiki store_origin: SA region: Saudi Arabia --- # Kon-Tiki **Price:** SAR 18 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Kon-Tiki - **How much does it cost?** SAR 18 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.sa](https://www.desertcart.com.sa/products/66829090-kon-tiki) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Now a major motion picture, Kon-Tiki is the record of Thor Heyerdahl’s astonishing three-month voyage across the Pacific. Kon-Tiki is the record of an astonishing adventure across the Pacific Ocean. Intrigued by Polynesian folklore, biologist Thor Heyerdahl suspected that the South Sea Islands had been settled by an ancient race from thousands of miles to the east. He decided to prove his theory by building a boat using the materials that would have been available to those pre-Columbian sailors and duplicating their legendary voyage. On April 28, 1947, Heyerdahl and five other adventurers sailed from Peru on a raft built from balsa wood, bamboo, and hemp. After three months and 4,300 nautical miles on the open sea they sighted land—the Polynesian island of Puka Puka. Translated into sixty-five languages, Kon-Tiki is a classic, inspiring tale of daring and courage—a magnificent saga of men against the sea. This edition includes a foreword by the author and a unique visual essay of the voyage. Review: Five Stars for Adventure, One for Archaeology - I made some Mormons angry over my reviews of books that defend the Book of Mormon, and they have been slamming my reviews. Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks On Kon-Tiki: I absolutely got lost in this magnificent adventure. Nevertheless, Heyerdahl's theory that civilization was spread around the world by some lost white race is simply bogus racism. Still, I enjoyed all his books, including "The Ra Expeditions," and "Aku-Aku." It is sad to think that Heyerdahl's career as a fearless adventurer is marred by his zealous devotion to a dated idea. Yes, Peruvian Indians could have crossed the Pacific, but it is more likely that contact came from the other way. At any rate, Heyerdahl manufactured the archaeological evidence he found on Easter Island. In the July 2002 issue of the "Smithsonian Magazine," Richard Conniff demonstrated that Heyerdahl actually paid the natives to make reed-boats relics (Kon Artist?" was the title). "A good story," said Conniff, "can be so compelling that teller and subject become entrapped together in its charms...." (p. 28). This astute observation could apply to novels claimed to be actual history, and anyone interested in the Book of Mormon should give it long thought. Heyerdahl wrote about Pedro Pate, an Easter Islander and how Pate found a two-masted reed boat in a cave. Conniff wrote: "I showed Pate a two-page photograph of the reed boat from Heyerdahl's book, and he grinned. He'd carved the boat himself, he said. Dubious, I offered him $100 to carve such a boat now, 37 years later, and he accepted." "A few days later, he presented me with the 18-inch-long reed boat he had carved. It was as good as the one in the book" (p. 29). In "The Ancient American Civilizations," Friedrich Katz asked some very hard questions of Heyerdahl's theory. "If the Polynesians really do come from America, why do their chronicles record the exact opposite direction, naming South-East Asia as their place of origin? Why is their language first and foremost related to South-Asiatic and Malayan languages? Finally, as Trimborn remarked, 'Were not the Polynesian Vikings, rather than the Indians, not the sailors who crossed the high seas?'" (p. 18). Heyerdahl should also be criticized for playing word games, selecting a word here and there, but ignoring the whole language. Many linguists criticized this erroneous method of relating two ancient peoples. See Robert Wauchope's magnificent little book, "Lost Tribes and Sunken Continents: Myth and Method in the Study of the American Indians." See my review. Lost Tribes and Sunken Continents Myth Method in the Mormon writers frequently cite Heyerdahl because he proved that ancient voyages across the oceans were possible--an idea going back hundreds of years and not new with Heyerdahl. Very few scholars ever denied that such ancient voyages were possible. But ah, there's the rub, as Hamlet said. If they occurred, what would be the effect on an entrenched native culture? The Book of Mormon has ancient voyages (the Jaredites were supposed have crossed the ocean on a 344-day voyage in eight submarines in about 2,000 BC). It is primarily about the great civilizations the Jaredites and Nephites established in the Americas. Robert Sharer summarizes the modern state of knowledge in his heavy and authoritative book, "The Ancient Maya." Sharer writes: "After more than a century of gathering and analyzing archaeological evidence, we have discovered nothing to support the idea of intervention by people from the Old World." "This is not to say that accidental contacts between the Old and New World peoples could not have occurred before the age of European exploration" (p. 6). "On the basis of the available evidence, then, the courses of cultural development in the New and Old Worlds seem clearly independent of each other and devoid of significant contact until 1492" (intro., p. 7). The ancient Maya civilization, Sharer continues, "are to be `explained' not as a product of transplanted Old World civilization, but as the result of the processes that underlie the growth of any culture, including those that develop the kind of complexity we call civilization." "The idea, which either explicitly or implicitly asserts that the peoples of the New World were incapable of shaping their own destiny or developing sophisticated cultures independently of Old World influence, is still popular in quarters." "But this is but one more popular myth devoid of fact, for the evidence points unmistakably toward the evolution of civilization in the New World independently of developments in the Old World." See Sharer's book and my review. The Ancient Maya, 6th Edition None of these serious criticisms of the claims of Mormons or of Heyerdahl's theories, however, should detract from Heyerdahl's great adventures. His accounts of his raft voyages are breathless and compelling reading. For a masterful telling of Polynesian history (especially about Easter Island) by a scholar with a Moari heritage, read the essential book "Vikings of the Pacific," by Peter H. Buck. Click here to read my review: Vikings of the Pacific Review: Kon-Tiki Has It All, Even Veracity ! - Heyerdahl does more than faithfully describe a 4,000-mile unescorted voyage across the Pacific on a Stone-Age raft. A scientist but not a sailor, he explains what and who convinced him that ancient people executed the same feat. Heyerdahl's text is not a dry logbook, either. Its light-hearted and humorous moments and heart-warming passages are somewhat balanced by moments of heightened danger in excess of the inherent danger in such a voyage where timely rescue was unlikely in the extreme. This reading of _Kon-Tiki_, 50 years after my first as a teenaged bookworm, was far more enjoyable than my first. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #1,482,354 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #21 in Pacific Islanders Biographies #99 in Traveler & Explorer Biographies #788 in Memoirs (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,043 Reviews | ## Images ![Kon-Tiki - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61GZSQ8u93L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Five Stars for Adventure, One for Archaeology *by R***R on May 25, 2007* I made some Mormons angry over my reviews of books that defend the Book of Mormon, and they have been slamming my reviews. Your "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks On Kon-Tiki: I absolutely got lost in this magnificent adventure. Nevertheless, Heyerdahl's theory that civilization was spread around the world by some lost white race is simply bogus racism. Still, I enjoyed all his books, including "The Ra Expeditions," and "Aku-Aku." It is sad to think that Heyerdahl's career as a fearless adventurer is marred by his zealous devotion to a dated idea. Yes, Peruvian Indians could have crossed the Pacific, but it is more likely that contact came from the other way. At any rate, Heyerdahl manufactured the archaeological evidence he found on Easter Island. In the July 2002 issue of the "Smithsonian Magazine," Richard Conniff demonstrated that Heyerdahl actually paid the natives to make reed-boats relics (Kon Artist?" was the title). "A good story," said Conniff, "can be so compelling that teller and subject become entrapped together in its charms...." (p. 28). This astute observation could apply to novels claimed to be actual history, and anyone interested in the Book of Mormon should give it long thought. Heyerdahl wrote about Pedro Pate, an Easter Islander and how Pate found a two-masted reed boat in a cave. Conniff wrote: "I showed Pate a two-page photograph of the reed boat from Heyerdahl's book, and he grinned. He'd carved the boat himself, he said. Dubious, I offered him $100 to carve such a boat now, 37 years later, and he accepted." "A few days later, he presented me with the 18-inch-long reed boat he had carved. It was as good as the one in the book" (p. 29). In "The Ancient American Civilizations," Friedrich Katz asked some very hard questions of Heyerdahl's theory. "If the Polynesians really do come from America, why do their chronicles record the exact opposite direction, naming South-East Asia as their place of origin? Why is their language first and foremost related to South-Asiatic and Malayan languages? Finally, as Trimborn remarked, 'Were not the Polynesian Vikings, rather than the Indians, not the sailors who crossed the high seas?'" (p. 18). Heyerdahl should also be criticized for playing word games, selecting a word here and there, but ignoring the whole language. Many linguists criticized this erroneous method of relating two ancient peoples. See Robert Wauchope's magnificent little book, "Lost Tribes and Sunken Continents: Myth and Method in the Study of the American Indians." See my review. Lost Tribes and Sunken Continents Myth Method in the Mormon writers frequently cite Heyerdahl because he proved that ancient voyages across the oceans were possible--an idea going back hundreds of years and not new with Heyerdahl. Very few scholars ever denied that such ancient voyages were possible. But ah, there's the rub, as Hamlet said. If they occurred, what would be the effect on an entrenched native culture? The Book of Mormon has ancient voyages (the Jaredites were supposed have crossed the ocean on a 344-day voyage in eight submarines in about 2,000 BC). It is primarily about the great civilizations the Jaredites and Nephites established in the Americas. Robert Sharer summarizes the modern state of knowledge in his heavy and authoritative book, "The Ancient Maya." Sharer writes: "After more than a century of gathering and analyzing archaeological evidence, we have discovered nothing to support the idea of intervention by people from the Old World." "This is not to say that accidental contacts between the Old and New World peoples could not have occurred before the age of European exploration" (p. 6). "On the basis of the available evidence, then, the courses of cultural development in the New and Old Worlds seem clearly independent of each other and devoid of significant contact until 1492" (intro., p. 7). The ancient Maya civilization, Sharer continues, "are to be `explained' not as a product of transplanted Old World civilization, but as the result of the processes that underlie the growth of any culture, including those that develop the kind of complexity we call civilization." "The idea, which either explicitly or implicitly asserts that the peoples of the New World were incapable of shaping their own destiny or developing sophisticated cultures independently of Old World influence, is still popular in quarters." "But this is but one more popular myth devoid of fact, for the evidence points unmistakably toward the evolution of civilization in the New World independently of developments in the Old World." See Sharer's book and my review. The Ancient Maya, 6th Edition None of these serious criticisms of the claims of Mormons or of Heyerdahl's theories, however, should detract from Heyerdahl's great adventures. His accounts of his raft voyages are breathless and compelling reading. For a masterful telling of Polynesian history (especially about Easter Island) by a scholar with a Moari heritage, read the essential book "Vikings of the Pacific," by Peter H. Buck. Click here to read my review: Vikings of the Pacific ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Kon-Tiki Has It All, Even Veracity ! *by D***R on October 22, 2025* Heyerdahl does more than faithfully describe a 4,000-mile unescorted voyage across the Pacific on a Stone-Age raft. A scientist but not a sailor, he explains what and who convinced him that ancient people executed the same feat. Heyerdahl's text is not a dry logbook, either. Its light-hearted and humorous moments and heart-warming passages are somewhat balanced by moments of heightened danger in excess of the inherent danger in such a voyage where timely rescue was unlikely in the extreme. This reading of _Kon-Tiki_, 50 years after my first as a teenaged bookworm, was far more enjoyable than my first. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ An Old Favorite, Revisited. *by R***N on June 19, 2013* I clearly remember reading Kon-Tiki when it was new and I was in High School. I truly wish, sometimes, that I still had that old paperback but it has gone the way of such things. Now I have this new copy, and the adventure is still there. Heyerdahl gives a very thorough overview of the preparations, the voyage itself, and their arrival in Polynesia. In fact, almost too thorough at times. This is why I rated it at only four stars and not five. Still in all, it's one helluva good read, just be prepared for some ramblings at times. Even with these, the book can still take you aboard the raft and carry you along with it. Four stars, yes, but still a very worthwhile book. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.com.sa/products/66829090-kon-tiki](https://www.desertcart.com.sa/products/66829090-kon-tiki) --- *Product available on Desertcart Saudi Arabia* *Store origin: SA* *Last updated: 2026-05-10*