Kon Tiki: Across the Pacific by Raft

A riveting true adventure story about five Norwegians and a Swede sailing a balsa-wood raft from Peru to French Polynesia. The year is 1947 and there are no ships that could realistically help the crew of this experimental craft (although ham radio operators from across the world were able to relay their updates). Fascinating subject matter, clear writing style, and good pacing make this a wonderful read, even with the occasional racially insensitive language (common for the time period and not born of disrespect, as author's life attests). The original raft is now at the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo.