Review: Windborne settlers of the Pacific

Prevailing winds blow to the east across the Pacific and along their
path can be found a pattern of settlement stretching like a spearhead from
New Zealand, Tahiti and Easter Island. Peter Crawford’s Nomads of the Wind
(BBC Books, pp 272, £18.99) follows the fortunes and fates of the
islanders and their islands, and the impact that the settlers had on isolated
habitats. The nomads brought with them a rich array of plants from breadfruit
to bananas. Unhappily, many native species were less fortunate: pigeons
failed to survive encounters with hungry settlers or their companion rats.
The book accompanies the series beginning on 9 January on BBC₂.