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cornmaven 's review for:
Unfamiliar Fishes
by Sarah Vowell
Pretty good book about Hawaii's political and cultural history from missionary times to the overthrow of the queen in the late 1890s. Vowell gets a little wordy and bogged down at one point as she describes all of the U.S. political machinations affecting Hawaii, but otherwise her typical pithy, humorous style shines, and makes the history memorable. I learned a lot, and came away with the understanding the just about everyone involved with Hawaiian and its governance - missionaries, native Hawaiians, U.S. politicians, the French, etc. were complicit in the march toward U.S. territory status and eventual statehood. It's much like the old BBC series, Connections, where one thing seemingly unattached to another is actually integral to that other thing.
And until I read this book I had no idea there were native Hawaiians who could probably become best friends with Republic of Texas types, and that Hawaiian royalty was founded on and pretty much enshrined incest. Amazing.
And until I read this book I had no idea there were native Hawaiians who could probably become best friends with Republic of Texas types, and that Hawaiian royalty was founded on and pretty much enshrined incest. Amazing.