Five Great Books About The History Of Hawaii

If you want to learn more about the history of Hawaii, you'll want to read some of the great books that have been written about the subject. You may have read Michener's Hawaii, a fictionalized account of the Islands that begins when the volcanoes erupt from beneath the ocean, but that gives you just what it claims to be -- fiction. To get the real stuff, try reading some of these classic accounts:

-- Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii, by Samuel Manaiakalani Kamakau, records some of the earliest history of Hawaii as recalled by a native of the Islands. Born in 1815, Kamakau began in 1865 to publish more than 200 articles in newspapers. These have been published in Ruling Chiefs and in another book, The People of Old. The amount of detail in these books is a bit mind-boggling -- just keeping track of all the Hawaiian names and who does what and who is related to whom is a challenge -- but you won't find this kind of information in one place anywhere else.

-- Shoal of Time, by Gavin Daws, begins with the arrival of Captain Cook in 1778 and ends with Hawaii becoming a state in 1959. Daws is a well-respected and very articulate historian who goes into incredible detail in this and his other books about Hawaii. Some people are put off by his somewhat sarcastic tone; one my friends claims he's just too mean to the Hawaiians. But I took a wonderful world history class from Professor Daws many years ago, and I can tell you that's just the way he is! Nobody escapes Daws' sardonic and analytic eye.

--Hawaii Pono: An Ethnic and Political History, by Lawrence H. Fuchs, talks about ways of life of the various ethnic groups in Hawaii and how they interacted in the early 20th century when the haole (Caucasian) oligarchy ruled over all, then began to change as World War II brought sweeping transformation and increased democracy to the Islands. Hawaii has a reputation as an interracial paradise, and we certainly do get along better than most places in the world, but this book shows some of the not-so-great historic underpinnings for today's multicultural society.

-- Hawaiian Music and Musicians: An Illustrated History, edited by George S. Kanahele, is the encyclopedia of Hawaiian music. Good luck finding a copy; unfortunately this 1979 book is out of print. But if you are a Hawaiian music lover, it is certainly worth searching for. With old photos and great detail, Kanahele tells the story of songs, composers, instruments, groups, shows, and the history of both the native form of music and the "himeni" that evolved under the influence of the missionaries. Fabulous reference book!

-- Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement & Political Manipulation at America's Largest Charitable Trust, by Samuel P. King and Randall W. Roth, is the book that turned the Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate empire upside down a few years ago. The last heir of the royal Kamehameha family, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, left her fortune to found schools for girls and boys, and the schools have been restricted to those of Hawaiian ancestry (which has led to controversy and lawsuits in recent years). At any rate, that giant fortune, controlled by a board of five trustees, attracted the kind of folks who are usually attracted to giant fortunes, to the detriment of the school and the children it was supposed to benefit. This book turned that around.