The Last Navigator: Revised Edition [Paperback]

As a young man piloting a small sailboat across the Pacific, Steve Thomas developed a fascination with ancient methods of navigation. He learned that, for thousands of years, the peoples of Oceania had sailed unerringly across the Pacific without compass or charts, guided only by natural signsstars, waves, and the flight paths of birds. In search of this secret knowledge, Thomas traveled to the tiny island of Satawal in Micronesia, home to Mau Piailug, one of the few surviving A fascinating exploration of a remoted archipelago and its seagoing people If you have any interest in the sea and navigation or in the impact of colonialism on indigenous cultures, or if you just enjoy a well-told story of adventure, then read on. [Thomas] is a dual explorer, simultaneously trying to rediscover an ancient system of sailing, using only natures navigational signals, and trying to find himself in the myth-made culture of Micronesia. . . . [This] is a travel book with a dream. This is a story of adventure, and coming of age. It is also an important document, preserving an ancient oral tradition. An unusually self-revealing, honest, and moving book Finely crafted and compellingly written A story of travel and adventure that gives us a splendid glimpse into [Micronesian] society