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8 Men and a Duck: An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island
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8 Men and a Duck: An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island Hardcover - 2002

by Nick Thorpe


From the publisher

On a fateful South American bus trip, journalist Nick Thorpe overheard some fellow passengers discussing an improbable plan to sail 2,500 miles from northern Chile to Easter Island on the "Viracocha" -- a boat made of reeds. The crew's aim in reviving this pre-Incan boat-building technology was twofold: to reopen the controversial migration theories of Thor Heyerdahl, who sailed his boat the "Kon-Tiki" from Peru to Polynesia in 1947, and to have one heck of an adventure in the process. Thorpe talked his way on board Captain Phil Buck's "Viracocha" only to find himself plagued by uncertainty. Why did the crew include a tree surgeon, a jewelry salesman, and two ducks? What happened to the navigator? Did anybody actually know how to sail? And, most important, where was the life raft?

"8 Men and a Duck" charts this hilarious and un-nerving Pacific voyage as it rolls between waves of high drama and high farce: from the five-day launch off a Chilean beach to the bungled phone call that triggered a naval rescue alert to the sad fate of Pedro the duck to the constant race against the inexorable sinking of the soggy hull.

Despite the best efforts of storms and sharks and fast-moving freighters, an alarming lack of sailing qualifications, and a rival explorer dogging the adventure at every turn, the crew members of the "Viracocha" lived to tell their extraordinary tale right through to its wickedly unexpected conclusion. Nick Thorpe's account is by turns funny, touching, and thrilling -- a story of friendship, fate, and the unlikely distances people will go for real adventure.

First line

The day Stephane Guerin materialized like an unshaven ghost from the exhaust fumes and clambered onto my bus, I had no reason to expect that he would alter my life.

Details

  • Title 8 Men and a Duck: An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island
  • Author Nick Thorpe
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 256
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Free Press, NY
  • Date June 10, 2002
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780743219280 / 0743219287
  • Weight 1.03 lbs (0.47 kg)
  • Dimensions 9.55 x 6.36 x 0.95 in (24.26 x 16.15 x 2.41 cm)
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2002019715
  • Dewey Decimal Code 910.916
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8 men and a duck - an improbable voyage by reed boat to easter island
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8 men and a duck - an improbable voyage by reed boat to easter island

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8 Men and a Duck: An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

8 Men and a Duck: An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

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New York, New York, U. S. A.: Free Press, 2002. First Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. First Edition (Number Line With The One Present). Rem. Mk. On The Lower Edges. Minor Shelf Wear.
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8 Men and a Duck: An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island
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8 Men and a Duck: An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

by Thorpe, Nick

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8 Men and a Duck : An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island
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8 Men and a Duck : An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

by Thorpe, Nick

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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8 Men and a Duck  An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

8 Men and a Duck An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

by Thorpe, Nick

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Free Press. Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. 2002. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. 0743219287 . First Edition Ex-Library in a Protective cover "Award-winning travel writer of 2,500-mile journey from South America to Easter Island in a recreation of a pre-Inca reed boat." ; Ex-Library; 9.55 X 6.36 X 0.95 inches; 256 pp pages .
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8 Men and a Duck: An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

8 Men and a Duck: An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

by Thorpe, Nick

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780743219280 / 0743219287
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New York: Free Press, 2002. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. 6x0x9. First edition. Remainder mark, a few smudges. 2002 Hard Cover. 256 pp. On a fateful South American bus trip, journalist Nick Thorpe overheard some fellow passengers discussing an improbable plan to sail 2,500 miles from northern Chile to Easter Island on the Viracocha -- a boat made of reeds. The crew's aim in reviving this pre-Incan boat-building technology was twofold: to reopen the controversial migration theories of Thor Heyerdahl, who sailed his boat the Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 1947, and to have one heck of an adventure in the process. Thorpe talked his way on board Captain Phil Buck's Viracocha only to find himself plagued by uncertainty. Why did the crew include a tree surgeon, a jewelry salesman, and two ducks? What happened to the navigator? Did anybody actually know how to sail? And, most important, where was the life raft?
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8 Men and a Duck: An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

8 Men and a Duck: An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

by Thorpe, Nick

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NY: Free Press, Simon & Schuster, 2002. A stock image [photo] is an accurate representation of the listed book's dust jacket design. Complete number line at copyright page. NON price-clipped dust jacket [$ 24.00], clean, crisp, colors bright, minor edge wear. 240 pp, clean, unmarked. Illustrated with B&W photographs and drawings. Orange boards, cream colored spine, black lettering. Interesting [history], amusing [duck & other characters], entertaining [shipmate antics], thrilling [sharks, hurricanes, a sinking boat] read. Media Mail, Priority & most international shipping include free tracking information. Every book listed is located in my smoke free and climate controlled shop. All are inspected by me and will have qualities and/or flaws described. . First Edition First Printing. Hard Cover. As New/Near Fine. Illus. by Various Photographers & Artists.
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8 Men and a Duck: An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

by Thorpe, Nick

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8 Men and a Duck An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

8 Men and a Duck An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

by Nick Thorpe

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8 Men and a Duck : An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island
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8 Men and a Duck : An Improbable Voyage by Reed Boat to Easter Island

by Nick Thorpe

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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