I happened to read "Sea People" this past fall, and it's one that I'd recommend to anyone interested in more or less any of the areas it touches on. The author took an approach of not just explaining what information was learned, but the how it was learned, and did so in a way that I felt made things really accessible, though not at the expense of making things hand-wavy in her explanation (imho, anyway).
Polynesian exploration and the logistics involved (both from a Polynesian and European point of view), interaction between dissimilar cultures trying to understand each other, historical re-creation, and more, plus some of what I think is simply good writing. It's not a topic I'd looked into much beforehand, but found it a really interesting and enjoyable read. If anyone finds that the interview in the article sparks an interest, I think you could definitely do worse.
Polynesian exploration and the logistics involved (both from a Polynesian and European point of view), interaction between dissimilar cultures trying to understand each other, historical re-creation, and more, plus some of what I think is simply good writing. It's not a topic I'd looked into much beforehand, but found it a really interesting and enjoyable read. If anyone finds that the interview in the article sparks an interest, I think you could definitely do worse.