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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Vowell's book on why and how Hawaii, among all the territories in the Pacific that the US annexed in 1898, became a state. Of Vowell's books, this most similar in style and form to The Wordy Shipmates. I liked this book but I think my enjoyment of and ability to focus on the book was hampered by the terrible cold I had while I was reading it. If you are interested in Hawaiian history you should pick it up.
The title of this slim yet dense history book comes from Hawaiian David Malo who was an apparent genius and someone who could clearly see the future:
Everyone mentions this quote, and for good reason: his prescience was astounding, especially given the culture he grew up in.
This book focuses primarily on the New England missionaries who fundamentally altered Hawaiian society as much as the numerous whalers and sailors who descended upon the islands. Of course, it went exactly as it has for every indigenous civilization which encountered the white man's technology, diseases and zeal to impress upon them their way of life.
Even those with good intentions ended up destroying the very people they meant to save.
This is the first Vowell book I've read, despite having two of her other books in my to-read pile. I quite enjoyed it. It helped that her thesis is that the year 1898 was as important a year in America's development as a nation as 1776, because that was the year my grandmother was born. I often marveled that she remembered hearing when the first airplane flew, that she was older than television, radio, refrigerators, antibiotics, even sliced bread. Yet there she was, in her kitchen baking cookies while watching TV as Americans walked on the moon. 1898 was when America went on an empire-building spree, adding island after island to its list of territories. Many of those people, like Puerto Rico and American Samoa, are Americans but aren't allowed to participate in elections or much of their own governance, 117 years later.
It also helped that I've been to many of the places Vowell talks about. Lahaina, Honolulu, the Bishop Ford museum... Hawaii is an amazing place and the people are unique. If you can manage it, I recommend visiting Hawaii at least once.
But read this book before you go, haole, so you understand why there are still underlying tensions between natives and the white people.
If a big wave comes in, large and unfamiliar fishes will come from the dark ocean, and when they see the small fishes of the shallows they will eat them up. The white man's ships have arrived with clever men from the big countries. They know our people are few in number and our country is small, they will devour us.
Everyone mentions this quote, and for good reason: his prescience was astounding, especially given the culture he grew up in.
This book focuses primarily on the New England missionaries who fundamentally altered Hawaiian society as much as the numerous whalers and sailors who descended upon the islands. Of course, it went exactly as it has for every indigenous civilization which encountered the white man's technology, diseases and zeal to impress upon them their way of life.
Even those with good intentions ended up destroying the very people they meant to save.
This is the first Vowell book I've read, despite having two of her other books in my to-read pile. I quite enjoyed it. It helped that her thesis is that the year 1898 was as important a year in America's development as a nation as 1776, because that was the year my grandmother was born. I often marveled that she remembered hearing when the first airplane flew, that she was older than television, radio, refrigerators, antibiotics, even sliced bread. Yet there she was, in her kitchen baking cookies while watching TV as Americans walked on the moon. 1898 was when America went on an empire-building spree, adding island after island to its list of territories. Many of those people, like Puerto Rico and American Samoa, are Americans but aren't allowed to participate in elections or much of their own governance, 117 years later.
It also helped that I've been to many of the places Vowell talks about. Lahaina, Honolulu, the Bishop Ford museum... Hawaii is an amazing place and the people are unique. If you can manage it, I recommend visiting Hawaii at least once.
But read this book before you go, haole, so you understand why there are still underlying tensions between natives and the white people.
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
fast-paced
I’m glad I read this history of Hawaii since I didn’t know anything and now I know a little bit more. Unfortunately it didn’t really come together for me, it seemed like just a string of consciousness blurb of facts. Her other book was more of a narrative so I was a little disappointed in this one.
Going into this, I knew nothing about Hawaii, apart from being able to hum the theme song from "Hawaii 5-0" which DOESN'T COUNT.
And you know what? I have a much strong sense of Hawaii now. Shocker, I know. Vowell has such an informal way of presenting the history of Hawaii without getting bogged down in the "White Man's Burden" guilt of historical revision. It's, I think (having only read one Hawaiian history book) a fair look at two cultures clashing against each other.
And I pretty much want to read all of Vowell's books and go to Hawaii with her so I can go in all these archives and libraries. Awesome.
And you know what? I have a much strong sense of Hawaii now. Shocker, I know. Vowell has such an informal way of presenting the history of Hawaii without getting bogged down in the "White Man's Burden" guilt of historical revision. It's, I think (having only read one Hawaiian history book) a fair look at two cultures clashing against each other.
And I pretty much want to read all of Vowell's books and go to Hawaii with her so I can go in all these archives and libraries. Awesome.
Overall, I was a bit unimpressed by Vowell's book. I had seen her charming Jonathan Stewart (and me) multiple times on the Daily Show, and she was very forthright about comparing Hawaii and Iraq, but overall, this book is told from a Western point of view. Towards the end, she is pretty flippant about Hawaii without giving much acknowledgement to the issues that persist today that still stem from the overthrow. She could have and should have done so much more. What I find interesting, though, is how she apparently suffers from the same problem I have when it comes to writing about Hawaii. She has a very great sense of humor in general, but that is lost in this book because the issues are too heartbreaking to make light of.
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Funny in a very dry biting way and interesting but the tone struggles a bit in the face of the history it’s grappling with.
The information in this book is excellent. I would highly recommend reading this before or during a visit to Hawaii - you see a lot of the stories in this around you as you travel. My one gripe is the organization of the book. There are no chapters and barely any breaks in the pages, making it hard to read at times and very difficult to search back for information.
This was a great overview of Hawaiian history between when the first missionaries arrived to when the monarchy was overthrown. It's a very tongue-in-cheek look at how America annexed Hawaii. It's funny and fast-paced - you have to pay a lot of attention! There were a few strange wanderings, but Vowell stuck mostly to the issues at hand.
It certainly sparked my interest in Hawaiian history and is a good introduction to the social and political dynamics on these islands.
It certainly sparked my interest in Hawaiian history and is a good introduction to the social and political dynamics on these islands.
Fascinating historical book about the missionaries who came to Hawaii, and the Americans who eventually took it over. I recommend reading it.
(I listened to an audio book and I found her voice off-putting. I realize that she is an announcer on npr, or was, so maybe it's just me. But having a whole book read to me by Violet Incredible was kind of weird.)
(I listened to an audio book and I found her voice off-putting. I realize that she is an announcer on npr, or was, so maybe it's just me. But having a whole book read to me by Violet Incredible was kind of weird.)