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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
I love the way Sarah Vowell writes about history. She brings the characters to life and helps us understand the context in which they lived and operated. And at times she can be absolutely hilarious.
I like Sarah Vowell, but this one didn't really grab me. Big surprise, the U.S. screwed native Hawaiians. Not much new there--our founding fathers were great at stomping all over indigenous people. I don't really need new reasons to get testy about our government these days!
“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. “
I like my history to be entertaining. Vowell hits the spot with her humor and weird observations about Hawaiian history. There were many side roads though and it felt scattered.
Great as usual for this author. It's a history of the impact of New England missionaries and their descendants on the culture and then the politics of Hawaii. As is often the case with Sarah Vowell's writing on this kind of topic (see The Wordy Shipmates, for example) it's funny but also sad, and at times infuriating. But she's clear that the people whose actions led to such misery weren't malicious in their intent. If anything, it's a warning about the universal human knack for hubris and rationalization.
I enjoyed this book after visiting Hawaii. It gives a general background of the last two centuries of Hawaiian history, using anecdotes and research. Vowell does not use chapters or organize her prose, so it can feel as if it is one large paragraph. I have enjoyed Sarah Vowell's books in the past, but this is not as humorous or easy to read as The Wordy Shipmates.
American imperialism in Hawaii is a tangled mess. I see now that US/western presence infiltrated the islands for a century before officially stealing the land from Natives. Infiltration took shape in many forms — from Captain Cooke to whale-hunting sailors to Protestant missionaries — and honestlyyy, infiltration was motivated by different objectives, *some* unrelated to colonization. Of course, all of this led to a terrible outcome.. but all I’m saying is… there are a lot of factors that led to the forced annexation of the islands that I didn’t know about until reading this!
3.5 stars: this book has the ingredients to make an engaging, accessible history book about Hawaii but the comedic tone for the first half is so DISTRACTING. And the layout of events is confusing.
Not my favorite type of writing BUT I learned a lot once I started taking notes. Also adding that it helps to know the basics of Hawaiian history and culture before reading this.
3.5 stars: this book has the ingredients to make an engaging, accessible history book about Hawaii but the comedic tone for the first half is so DISTRACTING. And the layout of events is confusing.
Not my favorite type of writing BUT I learned a lot once I started taking notes. Also adding that it helps to know the basics of Hawaiian history and culture before reading this.
medium-paced
Large and unfamiliar American fishes, indeed, came to Hawaii to spread Protestant faith and gobble up whale oil, then sugar. Vowell tries to be humorous with some interjections, but I found them a bit unnecessary.
I'm not sure if it was me or the audiobook but it didn't do a good job keeping my attention, though it did give a little glimpse into the history of the American involvement in Hawaii.