EASTER ISLAND: SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION INTO THE WORLD'S ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN MICROCOSM (Review)

Abstract

It has always been easier to destroy than to create - and in literary terms this means it's usually easier to criticize than praise. Most decent works deserve a healthy smattering of both. The book that is the subject of this review, however, draws so much attention to its shortcomings (albeit sometimes minor ones) that praise is hard to come by. I bought this expensive 2003 book to augment both my growing collection of Easter Island publications and my knowledge of Easter Island itself. So I began reading with enthusiasm. And when I came upon the first of a series of many typos, boo-boos, and flat-out errors, I first dismissed them as a reflection on how people rely far too heavily on spell-checkers in their word processing software. However, as the number of mistakes grew, I became distracted. That's when I started compiling a list.