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Headhunters on My Doorstep: A True Treasure Island Ghost Story Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

J. Maarten Troost (Author), Simon Vance (Narrator), Recorded Books (Publisher)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 446 ratings
Editors' pick Best Biographies & Memoirs
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Entertainment Weekly calls acclaimed author and essayist J. Maarten Troost a "funny, candid, and down-to-earth travel companion". Both witty and poignant, Headhunters on My Doorstep follows Troost as he retraces Robert Louis Stevenson’s path through the South Pacific. Somewhere between AA meetings in Tahiti and discovering how the Island of Merrymaking got its name, Troost reconnects with himself, his family, and the beauty of life.

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  1. Listening Length
    7 hours and 51 minutes
  2. Author
    J. Maarten Troost
  3. Narrator
    Simon Vance
  4. Audible release date
    August 20, 2013
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Recorded Books
  7. ASIN
    B00E8HL8TS
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 7 hours and 51 minutes
Author J. Maarten Troost
Narrator Simon Vance
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date August 20, 2013
Publisher Recorded Books
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B00E8HL8TS
Best Sellers Rank #133,017 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#13 in Australia & Oceania Travel & Tourism
#223 in Literary & Religious Travel Guides
#366 in Adventurers, Explorers & Survival Biographies

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
446 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book engaging with its descriptive writing style and witty humor. They appreciate the author's insightful writing about history and travel. However, some feel the book spends too much time on the author's personal struggles with alcoholism, which is rather boring.

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ReadabilityHumorInsightTravel writingHonestyAlcoholism
77 customers mention "Readability"62 positive15 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They appreciate the author's writing style, which is personal and poignant. The narrative is more serious than previous works, and the author candidly outlines the struggles of addiction. Readers describe the book as sincere and enjoyable.

"...a bit of a turnoff to me at first, it adds to the book's charm and poignancy because he is very personal in discussing his alcoholism without..." Read more

"...Though this is a short read, I did labor over it as I pictured the places being visited and tried to absorb the mini-history lessons and the cultures..." Read more

"This author is amazing. If he wrote 100 books, I'd read them all. Witty, intelligent, sense of humor, he speaks from the soul. I can't get enough...." Read more

"...the disease through the view of his funny travel writing honest and personal, but if for whatever reason this piece sounds not up your alley, it was..." Read more

54 customers mention "Humor"48 positive6 negative

Customers enjoy the author's sense of humor. They find the book entertaining, with witty and clever writing that makes them laugh out loud. The author's writing style is described as engaging and thought-provoking.

"...different - traveling and observing the South Seas - but the humor is quite similar: intentionally offbeat and thoughtful...." Read more

"...be someone I'd really love to hang out with: smart alecky, observant, witty, and skeptical...." Read more

"...that one first, because it failed to impress me, and it made Headhunters even more enjoyable...." Read more

"...Troost's first three books were rollicking, enjoyable adventures, and I can't recommend them highly enough to armchair travelers...." Read more

29 customers mention "Insight"29 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's insights and humor. They find it informative and entertaining, with great elements like history and islands. Readers appreciate the author's introspection and vulnerability. The book is a good way to learn about different French Polynesian cultures and how addiction affects them. Overall, readers describe it as an inspiring, honest read that does a decent job of relating the struggles of addiction to the seemingly mundane aspects of life.

"...Both come through in a thoroughly entertaining and informative book...." Read more

"...But overall this book shows Troost's deep, abiding respect for the islands he called home for a time, and it only reinforces my own wish to visit..." Read more

"...In this book, he's also mindful and optimistic. The writing, which has always been good, is a bit more elegant and ripened than in the past...." Read more

"...If he wrote 100 books, I'd read them all. Witty, intelligent, sense of humor, he speaks from the soul. I can't get enough...." Read more

8 customers mention "Travel writing"8 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the travel writing in the book. They find it a great read for those who love traveling. The author uses a different style of writing for a travel memoir, and it works well. The book explores an area not often covered by other books.

"...style, swims with sharks (and also avoids them when necessary), runs across islands, and basically explores anything and everything that will take..." Read more

"...Louis Stevenson, now recycled and examined by one of the best adventure writers of our time. I'll admit, I'm a big Troost fan...." Read more

"...Yes he travels ,and yes he writes about his travels, but I didn’t want to know about his personal life as this book presents...." Read more

"...it's a different style of writing for a travel memoir, and it worked really well" Read more

7 customers mention "Honesty"5 positive2 negative

Customers appreciate the book's honesty. They find it relatable and true, especially in the first passages.

"...In the first passages, with a true and blatantly honest account involving personal reflection, Troost shares his experiences of recovering from..." Read more

"...of Hawaii, and I can tell you that J. Maarten Troost's books are honest and informative, not to mention belly-laugh-out-loud funny." Read more

"...Nothing to this book. Overall, the author is an overgrown, immature, irresponsible idiot just living off his "woman"." Read more

"...Fun, inspiring and honest, this is a great book." Read more

6 customers mention "Alcoholism"0 positive6 negative

Customers find the book excessively focused on the author's alcoholism. They feel it's too rehashed and boring, with too much personal disclosure.

"...Alcoholism is a real disorder, but the AA approach is one of the least successful ways to treat it...." Read more

"...This one is a little heavy and dives into his personal life more than I would have imagined...." Read more

"...Otherwise it's a lot of bizarre rehab and alcoholism rehashing, over and over, for no one's benefit...." Read more

"...This book, unfortunately, focuses mainly on his personal problems with alcohol and his taking up jogging as a defense...." Read more

he still brings insight and fun to a journey following Lewis Stevenson and the history ...
5 out of 5 stars
he still brings insight and fun to a journey following Lewis Stevenson and the history ...
Another romp thru the Pacific, this one strayed little from the first few. Perhaps a more pensive and worldly Troost, he still brings insight and fun to a journey following Lewis Stevenson and the history of Oceania.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Jerry Dwyer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and informative
    Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    J. Marteen Troost's humorous writing ranks up there with P.J. O'Rourke's. He is funny, often making wry observations when they are least expected. His material is different - traveling and observing the South Seas - but the humor is quite similar: intentionally offbeat and thoughtful.

    This book is very good indeed. I have read this book through twice in a row. While it is hard to think of any other book that interesting, I enjoyed this book that much. Why?

    Troost follows the adventures of Robert Louis Stevenson through the Pacific, sometimes almost literally following in his footsteps. He observes and comments on odd events, people and things. Two of the most memorable people are a German former French Legionnaire who runs a café with his Marquesan wife and is covered with Marquesan tattoos. Another is Celine, a "man-killer" who took him on a serious horse ride up the mountains.

    He has a sense of humor about it all. In Kiribati, he is unable to speak with government officials who are not impressed by the title of his previous book mostly about their country "Sex Lives of Cannibals." On Samoa, he speaks with a former deputy prime minister of Samoa because "[w]e had a mutual friend, and what I liked about the Pacific is that this alone is enough to elicit an invitation for coffee from a highfalutin official. Imagine if you knew someone who went to high school with Joe Biden, and then visiting Washington, DC, you get a call from the vice president inviting you for a ride in his Camaro."

    While this is a funny book, it is a funny and enjoyable travel book. Much of the book is about French Polynesia, which many including me have dreamed of visiting. In some ways, he makes the case that French Polynesia is not so grand and a trip to Hawaii or Fiji might be a better trip unless you have an unlimited budget. (Having visited Hawaii a few times, I am dubious about that alternative.) You will not get the listing of places to stay that you get from Lonely Planet, but you do get a personal sense of the attractive and not-so-attractive aspects of parts of the South Seas.

    Troost's trip to the South Seas was about a year after he went to rehab and quit drinking. It is impossible to ignore this aspect of the book and, while it seemed a bit of a turnoff to me at first, it adds to the book's charm and poignancy because he is very personal in discussing his alcoholism without becoming cloying.

    Troost obviously had fun on his trip to the South Seas and learned a lot. Both come through in a thoroughly entertaining and informative book. If you're interested in the South Seas, you can learn a lot while reading some quite funny stories.
    8 people found this helpful
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  • Tamela Mccann
    4.0 out of 5 stars Troost's Headhunters
    Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I love J. Maarten Troost. Seriously, he seems to be someone I'd really love to hang out with: smart alecky, observant, witty, and skeptical. Plus he seems to know where all the coolest spots are in the South Pacific, and he always seems to have some sort of adventure that defies believability. And nowhere is this more apparent than in Headhunters On My Doorstep, his newest travelogue entry wherein he retraces the journeys of Robert Louis Stevenson in the late 1800s.

    Troost begins his latest book by sharing his own personal journey through alcoholism; recently sprung from the land of rehab, he realizes it's time to get back on track in lots of ways. This time he uses maps and other sources to follow RLS's life-changing trek through the South Pacific (a story I knew nothing about). Going off the beaten track, Troost, in his trademark style, swims with sharks (and also avoids them when necessary), runs across islands, and basically explores anything and everything that will take him closer to Stevenson's journey. I'm ever amazed at the places he stays and the people he encounters, all while describing worlds that I'm sure can only be truly experienced first-hand. A bonus for this reader was Troost's return to Kirabati, the island where his first book, The Sex Lives of Cannibals, took place. Like all things, time has moved the island forward and yet some of it is still the same. I would have liked him to spend more time there, revisiting with sites and people, but his time on Kirabati is only a short stop along the way.

    Though this is a short read, I did labor over it as I pictured the places being visited and tried to absorb the mini-history lessons and the cultures. Troost does spend quite a good bit of time sharing his feelings about addiction and his need to not relapse; while I understand how much this impacts his daily life, I did wish there was less time spent recounting that portion of Troost's life (to the detriment of more details of the islands). But overall this book shows Troost's deep, abiding respect for the islands he called home for a time, and it only reinforces my own wish to visit them myself some day. Until I can, I'll continue to enjoy Troost's trademark humor and attention to detail as he gives me a glimpse of lives I can only imagine.
    5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • TAG
    5.0 out of 5 stars A very entertaining read.
    Reviewed in Canada on August 29, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    The author keeps you engaged with his many small stories of his past which are encompassed by his travels and the life and times of Robert Louis Stevenson. Both insightful and educational.
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  • Doc
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very funny book
    Reviewed in France on September 5, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    As always With J.Marteen Troost, you enjoy a nice road trip from the comfort of your coach.
    In this one, he also talks about his personnal life wich sometimes can be a little too much, but it also makes you a bit closer to him.

    I totally recomend, I had a very good time reading it!
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  • casimodo
    5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoy Maarten Troost
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 20, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    I really enjoy Maarten Troost, his way of writting , his vision of the world, his sense of humour, his books are powerfull because authentic. I've read all his books. this book is extremely interesting, it shows a brave man , honest really honest about himself.
    it is funny like his previous books, but it has something more in it , more mature, more deep .

    maarten troost travels to marquises in this book , but it is also an inner voyage, inside oneself soul , without any make up , just no compromise about himself , this is the reason of his victory over his inner demons. we travel with him through his book, feeling the fragility and strength of man, laughing to tears when 3 wild dogs attack him , and god knows only how he got out of it ! then in the same morning a small kid saves his live, as maarten did not realize, his ankle wa bleeding, and wanting to dive to an infested shark beach. then maarten turns this incident to his wish to vote for the most conservative arms loving texan politician. all that
    with an incredible sense of humour.... and complaining not being able to have arms on him , emasculated by the "cheese-eating surrender monkeys in French Polynesia"..(p.177) , this book is a must ! one of thehundred things i want to do in my life is to meet Maarten troost
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  • AnUnkownUser
    2.0 out of 5 stars Overall disappointing
    Reviewed in Germany on September 9, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Being a very big fan of Maarten Troost I anxiously checked every few month, whether a new way would be under way.
    Excited I started to go through the book and started wondering, what this book was all about.

    I have read R.L. Stevensons book of the south pacific and was looking forward to the amusing yet accurate descriptions
    of the south pacific I was used from M.Troost's earlier books (except Lost on Planet China, Which I found a more serious and intense one).

    I learned at length about hard times getting away from alcohol and fighting against it

    I also learned, that there has been obviously some financial trouble coming from the publisher

    And there are quite a few comparisons with habits of drug addicts to some historic figures like Gauguin, Jaques Brel and others,
    revealing the one or other similarity in behaviour which assumes drug addiction at this heroes of the past, some not being heroes after all.

    Then I learned a bit more of getting clean and a bit more of getting away from alcolhol and again a bit more about alcoholism....

    At a certain point I didn't knew, if I would ever find the travel book I bought in the very first place, or a report of how Maarten Troost got rid of his demons by traveling,
    running and turning to church again (which is the institution which still harasses the south seas, which we remember from him and other authors).

    I am very happy for Maarten Troost that he finally escaped alcohol (and I knew people who failed in that, so my congratulations here) and here and there the old Maarten Troost shows up (e.g. the tattoo chapters), but that's it.

    Too little to give it more than tow stars here, I hope there will be a next book and I hope he finds to his earlier, amazing style and finally, I hope he gives his next book a title, which fits to the content.
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  • Dan Sieffert
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on October 16, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Very funny as well as inciteful in regard to addiction.
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