Hawaii Books

The characters were well-crafted, the setting was vivid, and the plot moved along quickly in this heart-warming book. Maile comes to terms with her own problems while helping her cancer-striken friend, Brooke, come to terms with her illness. Maile has a loving family and good friends that help her through.

This is a charming, thoughtful story of two very different girls--a native Hawaiian and a haole girl from Seattle--and how their friendship grows as they each face difficult issues. Having lost her mother in a tsunami, Maile (My-lee) resents her father leaving her with her grandmother in order to go to the mainland with his new wife. As Maile contemplates her hurt and anger, Brooke comes to live on the island. Brooke, as Maile quickly discovers, has cancer--and Maile suddenly has much to ponder about healing and forgiveness. The details and language are wonderful, and Sylvie beautifully captures her characters' thoughts and feelings. I look forward to more books from her!

David K. Reynolds is not only the West's best known teacher of Asian psychologies, he has written one of the best self-help books ever available on the market. I've been a clinical psychologist for more than 20 years, and while there are many fine self-help books available, especially using cognitive-behavior therapy, this one is perhaps the most widely applicable that I have found. Most self-help books focus on resolving specific problems: depression, panic disorder, social phobia, etc. But Constructive Living (CL) is for everyone wanting to live a more effective, principled, value-driven life.

Reynolds challenges a variety of sacred cows in American life: about the importance of feelings, about so-called 'uncovering' psychotherapies (those which focus primarily on history and insight into how we got to be the way we are), and about so-called rugged individualism. In their places, Reynolds weaves two Japanese therapies together, Morita Therapy and Naikan Therapy, which promise only to help the reader see reality more clearly, and to make conscious choices about handling reality, as it is, not necessarily as we wish it were. Owing a debt to Japanese Buddhist psychology, Reynolds, who has been writing for more than a quarter of a century, anticipates the most exciting developments now occurring in American cognitive-behavior therapy. This book is by a pioneer. He says that "effort is good fortune." If so, then reading this book and practicing its teachings may be very good fortune, indeed.

The last self-help book you'll need. David Reynolds offers a concise and practical summary of this practical approach to life, its problems, and its pleasures that originated in Japan. Of all his books, this was, for me, the most accessible. Constructive Living helps the readers shift their focus from their own problems and emotions (the primary focus on Western psychotherapy) to the world and people around them. The question becomes "What should I do right now?," instead of "Why do I feel this way?" It is completely secular, although one can see the overtones of Zen. However, this isn't just a book to read. It's a book that inspires action. Constructive Living is well-written and broken into convenient sections. In keeping with the theory on which it is based, the focus is on doing rather than ruminating. A firm but pleasant reminder that we can make choices and choose well.

For those who want some serious tailgating Ideas. This book is the winner.. It's hard to tailgate in Downtown Atlanta for the Falcons games, but other cities, you might be able to use it well. I know College towns are huge on it. Being on the East Coast, and Hawai'i is 3600 miles away from me, you don't get many UH fans. So I don't have all the buddies to tailgate with at my house.. But a must for those who like food

This is a collection of over 75 recipes by the top chefs in Hawaii. It's written in a style that is so easy to read, the recipes are fabulous and it even shows you how to deep fry a turkey ( awesome and NOT greasy!) , make a fabulous seafood stew in tin foil and cook some of the best ribs you'll ever taste.
If you've been to Hawaii and love the restaurants - you will LOVE this book.

From back cover:

"A vividly written cultural history of the 50th state, which will provide Hawaiians and tourists alike a full understanding of the rich history of the islands.

'Hawaii Pono' translates as 'Hawaii the Excellent' -- and so it has semmed to the many ethnic groups who have made her the melting post of the Pacific, as well as to the innumerable tourists who choose Hawaii as the premier vacation spot. Lawrence H. Fuchs has, 'through meticulous research, brought together the Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, and native Hawaiian cultural contributions and detailed the impact of American settlers - plantation entrepreneurs, dedicated teachers, devoted missionaries - from the time they assumed control of the islands in 1893 until statehood was voted by Congress in 1959."

A magnificent book written by an outsider who had no agendas to fulfill or preconceptions about the subject. Hawaii Pono is the definitive book about the history of territorial Hawaii. It is the study of immigrants from many corners of the world coming together by necessity or wanderlust to create the rainbowed culture that is Hawaii.

This is a great guide to the restaurants in Hawaii. The reviews are thorough including menus, prices and atmosphere. Instead of wondering around looking for a restaurant that has the "look", this guide makes it easy to pick the places within your budget. A great way to enhance a vacation in wonderful place.

This guide gave me everything I wanted to know about the restaurants on the islands that we visited. Not only did the authors include the standard reviews with price and best dish info but they also gave an idea of the "feel" of the restaurant and (important for us) whether the restaurant was kid friendly. We found the comments about "favorite with the locals" very helpful. Whatever your price range, there are many and varied cuisine style choices to fill your needs. Every island was well researched with far more good restaurants illustrated than the average tourist would ever have time to try. Great resource.

This cookbook is a great instructional cookbook filled with fun pictures and easy to make recipes that kids will love!

This cookbook is a fun and creative way to spend quality time with your children or anyone making food that taste great and fun to eat.

I used this book extensively, as I was shooting the best beaches we could find for our DVD "Hawaiian Dreams" here on Amazon. It saved us a lot of time with great descriptions and informative facts. I highly recommend it, and if you want to actually see, hear and feel what these beaches look like, check out our DVD as well as this book.

I've read John Clark's other books, and this one tops them all. It combines the information from all of Hawaii's best beaches in a creative and informative way. I am new to the Hawaii islands, so I also enjoy reading part of the history of the beaches as well as the meaning of the Hawaiian beach names. This book is also complete with beautiful color photos. I would recommend this book to anyone visiting Hawaii. Beaches are Hawaii's greatest asset.

As complete a guide as possible (so far) for identifying the myriad of ferns and their allies on the Hawaiian Islands. Far more complete than any other available publication.

It is said that the most thoroughly investigated natural environment on Earth is the countryside within a day's walk of Oxford University. But the Hawaiian islands, the greatest natural history "laboratory" on Earth, are well up on that list.
Nevertheless, there is so much here to know that some sectors of the natural world have been skimped. One is the ferns, which until now have not received a comprehensive review since before World War I.
In "Hawaii's Ferns and Fern Allies," Daniel Palmer has his work cut out for him. Worldwide, many families with representatives in Hawaii have not been thoroughly studied. Here, there are quite a number of doubtful species, and considerable confusion due to misnaming or giving the same name to different species over the decades.
One endemic species, Doryopteris takeuchii, was not discovered until 1988, though its location is hardly obscure -- it grows all over Diamond Head.
Palmer, a dermatologist and tree farmer who divides his time between Hawaii and Michigan, tentatively concludes that there are 200 species of ferns and 21 allies (such as Lycopodiums) in the islands.
Unlike flowering plants, where aliens now outnumber natives, the ferns of Hawaii are almost all (85 percent) natives. Of these, nearly three-quarters are known only from these islands.
Only a handful of native ferns are thought to be extinct, but 29 species out of 144 are either rare or designated as endangered.
Most, from tiny plants that are hardly ever noticed, to tree ferns, live in wet areas, but a few species have made homes on sunburnt rocks, even at high altitudes.
Another few are aquatic, including Salvinia molesta, a floating plant that has become a serious weed, along with a small number of other imports.
Most aliens are not weedy, but the popular staghorn ferns (Platyceriums) are "potentially serious invaders of native forests." Platycerium bifurcatum was found spreading into the wild on Maui in 1991.
The Hawaiians, of course, have the longest experience with native ferns, some of which served as food, as medicine, as a source of glue for making up kapa (bark cloth, also known as tapa) and in rituals.
Curiously, though, the fern most often seen in Hawaiian cultural contexts today, Physmatosorus grossus, is an alien.
Called laua`e, this fern smells similar to maile (a fragrant native forest vine) and is used by dancers and in lei.
But Palmer says this may be a confusion. A scented plant called laua`e is referred to in old Kauai lore, but it may not even have been a fern.
William Hillebrand, who attempted to treat all known Hawaii ferns in his flora of 1888, did not include P. grossus, and the oldest example in scientific collections dates only from 1919.
Apparently, P. grossus was brought in from the South Pacific within the past century and because it happened to have an odor similar to maile, the name migrated over. The original laua`e is somewhat mysterious but ethnobotanist Puanani Anderson-Wong concluded that it was the fern Microsorum spectrum, although that native is found on all islands, not just Kauai.
M. spectrum is now known in Hawaiian as pe`ahi.
There is a fair amount of this sort of lore in Palmer's book, although the bulk of it is technical. Because both amateurs and professionals have been in need of a guide to Hawaii's ferns, Palmer designed his book to be usable by both. A variety of typographical stunts makes it easy for amateurs to find the common or garden variety information.

For those of you who like to dink around streams this is the book for you. It is written for the laymen and is very readable. The photography and text are outstanding. I finally know something about all the things I have been catching. Thanks to the two authors for a great job!

I love this book. For years I have been looking for a book on freshwater fish in Hawaii and now I got one. Great pictures and plenty of info on every freshwater animal in Hawaii! I highly recommend it for anyone who likes to fish in Hawaii's creeks or just wants to know what type of fish that was we used to throw rocks at.

This calendar is perfect for the armchair traveler; lush tropical scenes are depicted--just what is needed on those bleak winter days...

For the past four years; I've use the latest "Hawaii-Wild & Scenic" Calendar for my office wall. The Size is larger than standard 12"x12" calendars and the images are always amazing.

Another PLUS is the Amazon price is lower than Bookstores and you do not need to fight for a copy Post-New Years Day when most calendar prices drop 50% or more.