When the Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl sailed his balsa-wood raft Kon-Tiki from Peru to Polynesia in 1947, he created one of the founding myths of the post-war world, imbued with heroism, optimism and free-spirited rebellion against scientific orthodoxy. This examination of his life and ideas reveals how carefully he constructed his own legend, and challenges the racism and sexism implicit in some of his theories.