Book recommendation on History of Hawaii for Questionland Seattle

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Book recommendation on History of Hawaii

I'm wondering if anyone can recommend a book on Hawaii.

I'm curious how it happened - what is the skinny on a the folks who set off into the wide wide ocean not knowing what they would find - Utopian visionaries? Religious cult committing group suicide under the some pretense?

I'm curious how it went down - the royal family is revered by locals but weren't they strict leaders who were seduced by Victorian bling and ultimately sold out their land and culture for woolen dress and cash so that they could live like "real royalty"?

I'm curious how the locals do it? Coming back from the bring of extinction in the middle of one of the greatest commercial enterprises this side of Las Vegas. From coconut bras and singing back up for Elvis to what appears to be an honest and legitimate cultural pride that exists side by side with the commerce that exploits it. It is still clear that hotels are king but the locals aren't completely outside the empire either. How well is that working? How is it working?

Any books that will answer these questions?

pairustwo asked in Book Recommendations 8 months ago | Report

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David Wright

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For fiction, in addition to the already mentioned Michener, I'd suggest the two novels of Alan Brennert - "Molokai" and "Honolulu" - which are quite good historical fiction on the islands.

The hot non-fiction book right now on Hawaii is Sarah Vowell's latest, "Unfamiliar Fishes." Here's from Publisher's Weekly: "Outrageous and wise-cracking, educational but never dry, this book is a thought-provoking and entertaining glimpse into the U.S.'s most unusual state and its unanticipated twists on the familiar story of Americanization."

Another non-fiction that takes a less traditional approach is Gary Okihito's "Island World: A History of Hawaii and the US" - first of a planned trilogy. Publisher's Weekly writes: " Okihiro combines human history, natural history and mythic Hawaiian folklore with interpretations of how Hawaiian cultural artifacts (such as surfboards) infiltrated American culture and vice versa. He likewise depicts the lives of Hawaiians who wound up in North America, either by choice or involuntarily. ... Okihiro places the story of Hawaii in direct and constant relation to the story of the United States. Some readers may find this eclectic mix of facts hard to follow and synthesize, but all will come away intrigued and enlightened." Looks like something you might enjoy, or that meets your desire to know not just what happened, but what's going on, at least in Okihiro's view.

David Wright answered in Book Recommendations 8 months ago | Report

3 comments by Sacrelicious, sublevelthree, and David Wright…

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Enthusiastically seconding "Molokai" and "Honolulu," by Alan Brennert.

Sacrelicious commented 8 months ago | Report

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Thirding unfamiliar fishes. Sarah vowell is fantastic. It skips through history weaving past with current issues. And is really funny. Not about Hawaii at all but if you haven't read assination vacation it's pretty amazing as well. Her twisted brain makes even the grizzliest subjects interesting and paltaeble and maybe inapropriatly hilarious

sublevelthree commented 8 months ago | Report

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Vowell narrates the audiobook herself also, with her idiosyncratic delivery that is pure squee to the nerdosphere (she spoke at a recent American Library Association conference, and was pretty much granted honorary librarian status) and features various guest stars reading the quotations throughout (including Keanu Reeves, of all people!)

David Wright commented 8 months ago | Report

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http://www.amazon.com/Hawaii-James-Michener/dp/0449213358

Basil answered in Book Recommendations 8 months ago | Report

3 comments by pairustwo, O my captain, and pairustwo…

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I knew that was coming.

Thanks for confirming my darkest intuitions about question land Basil.

pairustwo commented 8 months ago | Report

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For those who are initimidated by James Michener's huge novels, you could try looking up the two movies based upon single chapters of that book. "Hawaii" starred Julie Andrews, Max Von Sydow, Carol O'connor and Richard Harris (plus a cameo by a very very subdued Bette Midler). The sequel, and not well-known "The Hawaians" starred Charleton Heston and has not seen the light of day since the 1970s. (It is well known because of the scandalous scene where Heston removes his clothes and sits nude in a hot tub with his other oriental women workers. Nothing happens, but it was still considered scandalous in the early 1970s when hot tubs weren't as widespread, and it was supposed to show the character's devil-may-care flagrant disregard for societal norms.)

O my captain commented 8 months ago | Report

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I'm sorry for the snark. I was under the impression that Michener books were highly fictionalized claptrap - an operatic ode to western expansion. Is that way off base.

pairustwo commented 8 months ago | Report

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The Colony by John Tayman tells the story of Hawaii's leper colony and the exile people were forced to endure.

Hotel Honolulu by Paul Theroux is an amazing, hilarious novel about more modern-day Hawaii that might answer some of your questions about "how the locals do it."

I haven't read Michener's book, but I thought the movie version from 1966 was a good story. Not 100% true, but gives you a good idea of how things started to go wrong.

shele answered in Book Recommendations 8 months ago | Report

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