Hawaii Books

Oliver Statler's Japanese Pilgrimage is a delight. Retracing the steps of generations of past pilgrims, he brings their stories to life and evokes a gentle reflective mood for the reader. As well, modern Japan is brought into focus through his appreciation of the links between tradition, Buddhism and Shinto and contemporary culture. A really delightful read, and a good "travellers tale" that will be enjoyed by those who have or are planning to visit Japan.

This book tells the story of an American man who makes a famous pilgrimage around the island of Shikoku with his Japanese friend.
Having lived/studied in Zentsuji Shikoku for a year, (the home of Kobo Daishi the monk who created the pilgrims trail) I can vouch for the books authenticity.

It is a tale about the 88 temples along the way, the political intrigues, secret love affairs between villgers and pilgrims and the stories of despair and pain. Oliver weaves a beautiful web between the past history which he quotes and the present conditions of the modern pilgrims and village people he meets along the way. It is not only a book about Japanese culture accurately and sensitively crafted but the spiritual journey of the author also and his struggle with his inner darkness. Its a great read.

Each temple along the way has a personality and a shadow and the pilgrim connects the stories of the past with his present journey as he interviews the local people and describes their various characteristics. The journey traverses various provinces from Kagawa to Kochi where the various people display unique attitudes towards the pilgrims varying between open hostility to hospitality.

It is a good book to realize the complexity of Japanese culture and to appreciate the beauty of this amazing island of sea, temples and mountains. Oliver is truly an amazing oriental observer with the spirit of zen in each page. He writes honestly, openly and without pretention.

They just don't make books like this anymore! This is a wonderfully rambling, lyrical, impressionistic portrait of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, anecdotal and episodic and yet gradually unfolding according to an underlying narrative plan. It's accessible and simply written and yet well-researched, informative, and highly evocative of Japanese religiosity as it functions in real life. At times it's intensely personal, based as it is on the author's own pilgrimage experiences (mainly a complete walking circuit of the eighty-eight temples accomplished with a friend in 1971), and yet at other times it's intriguingly biographical concerning monks and pilgrims prominent in the pilgrimage's long history. The author's fervent enthusiasm and deep esteem for this religious phenomenon and its underlying spirituality overflows on every page, and yet he's quite realistic and straightforward about some of the shadier and unsavory aspects of the pilgrimage. Finally, the icing on the cake, the book is profusely illustrated with fine woodcuts and paintings both premodern and modern, once again proving the principle that a picture's worth a thousand words.

The book is divided into three sections, and with each section the reader gets closer and closer to lived religion in Japan. In the first part Statler concentrates on outlining the historical personage of Kukai (later known honorifically as Kobo Daishi), the 8th/9th-century monk and founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism in Japan upon whom the pilgrimage is focused. In the second part Statler attempts to portray how layers and layers of legend and belief enlarged and eventually apotheosized Kobo Daishi and of how faith in him as a divine savior was spread among the populace by wandering, itinerant holy men (many pious if unlearned, some inevitably charlatans). Finally, in the third section the pilgrimage itself comes into sharper focus, including discussions with current pilgrims and priests along with accounts of many past pilgrims such as the Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danzo VIII, the feminist writer Takamure Itsue, the Chicago anthropologist Frederick Starr, and the haiku poet Masaoka Shiki, to name only a few. And of course all three sections are permeated with legends, folk stories, anecdotes, and miracle tales that are fantastic or even bizarre--and that capture the mood and feel of the pilgrimage perfectly in all its ambiguity.

Just a word of warning, though, this is not a guidebook. Statler does not describe every single one of the eighty-eight temples*, and for those temples he does describe he skips around a lot and backtracks now and then with no attempt at going along in their order on the pilgrimage route. And there is absolutely no concrete information on travel and accommodations or the like, so don't count on this book for such purposes. Instead, allow this book to get you into the spirit of the pilgrimage, whether you really intend on actually performing it or not, in fact. Indeed, you don't need to know a thing about Japan to follow and enjoy this fine account, and yet those who've studied Japan for years will doubtlessly find much to learn and enjoy as well. And if you happen to have fond memories of life in rural Japan, then believe me, this book will definitely take you back there in spirit.

*(In the back there is an appendix with each temple listed by name and number along with the principal deity and sect affiliation of each, though this is more in the nature of an FYI than a guide per se).

This well-crafted historical novel held me captive until I finished it. Descriptions of Oahu, native Hawaiians, haoles (foreigners), and the events of Hawaii in the 1850s seemed entirely authentic. I enjoyed the technique of two complementary stories, each told by the two primary characters (one Hawaiian, one Haole). I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about Hawaii's people and history.

The reason this book came to my attention was I first heard of it from Windward Community College. I guess they promote a book each year. So when a friend offered me her book to read I was stoked. The book was the original hardback, that just looked so classic as it had aged gracefully. Its old but classic look kind of set the mood for the story. The first part was really interesting as they talked about traveling up Nu'uanu valley to the Pali (I pass that way several times a week). The whole story has such a nice Hawaiian feel. It describes a time that my mother lived through, so it really hits home. Anyone interested in Hawaii in anyway should read this!

As a native of Hawaii I found this book hard to put down. It's set in Hawaii in the 1850's, during a time when pressure from foreign powers created considerable turmoil within the Hawaiian royal house. What I like best is that the story is told in the person of a Hawaiian priest (and tutor to the Prince Liholiho). He has considerable, intricate, and savy knowledge of what goes on in Hawaii. Yet he too, like the powerful royal house he serves, is subject to political and cutural changes far beyond his control. The descriptions of the influenza and smallpox epidemics, and the manifestations of the rapidly vanishing old culture, are chilling.

I've lived in Korea for 3 years, and recently read this book as part of my exploration of the culture here. I consider this one of the better books I've read for this purpose.

Everyday I see these old people, and my Korean isn't good enough to have a conversation of any substance with them. I can communicate well enough to know that they have fascinating stories of another world, one I can barely imagine. And then, I can't understand any of the details!

Well, this is one of the stories they'd have to tell me.

As another reviewer pointed out, it's a biography, not an exploration of Korean shamanism; Kendall has written a good book on that topic, however.

The subject, called "Youngsu's Mother," was a young girl at the time of the war, so her memories are quite fascinating. Her perspectives of the family dynamics, jealousies among siblings, relationships between first and second wives, and between a new wife and her in-laws are quite revealing.

A Korean friend told me about her mother, whose mother secretly threw her school books to her over a fence so that the grandfather wouldn't know the girl was going to school. Youngsu's Mother tells a similar story.

In other ways as well I sense that Youngu's Mother's story is not too remarkable for women of her generation. But it's not a summary of Korean history or anything, just one woman's story. And it's a good one, thanks to the story-telling talents of Youngsu's Mother and Laurel Kendall.

This is an exhiliarating account of the life of a Korean Shaman, and her interesting life in modern Korea. It is fun to read just for pleasure and it's interesting. Because it is a case study, it does not necessarily purport to be representative of all Korean Shamans, but nevertheless it teaches a lot about Korea in this century.

The story of "Yongsu's Mother" is compelling, informative, and thought-provoking at the same time. Yongsu's Mother clearly enjoys telling her stories, and has developed a flair for the dramatic (at the expense of accuracy from time to time it appears). I read this book for a class on East Asian folklore, and while I realize Yongsu's Mother is not the archetypal shaman, her experiences shed light on not only Korean shamans, but Koreans in general.

The most interesting part of the book, besides the stories, is Kendall's struggle to ascertain the accuracy of Yongsu's Mother's stories. Yongsu's Mother is presumably not deliberately lying to Kendall, but instead exhibiting a fundamental human paradox: the past, presumably done with and set in stone, is made fluid by the human mind and memory. The point is not that Yongsu's Mother's variations destroy her credibility, but rather that the variations give insight into her, and presumably her culture's, psyche.

This was a wonderful book ... don't be scared off by the title: this is not a book specifically about religion, but a biography about a woman who happens to be a shaman. 5 out of 5 stars.

Although this book is not a guide to Hawaiian Lighthouses, this is what we used it for, when we were in Hawaii, photographing the major lighthouses for our own book "Lighthouses of the Hawaiian Islands". We also used it to plan our trip. Love Dean has told the history, the stories, with accompanying black and white photos. Our book, all color photos, is a great companion piece to "Lighthouses of Hawaii". Anyone interested in Hawaii's Lighthouses needs both books. WE are known as "the Lighthouse People" because we have photographed every lighthouse in the United States.

I needed a thorough listing of all the lighthouses on Hawaii and this book provided it in detail! Plus I got stories to add to their beauty and great maps!

A truly wonderful collection of historical data on Hawaii's lighthouses and their keepers.

-- it really gives a good overview of what it is like to live in Hawaii. It gives a great summary of Hawaiian history and then relates what you read in the history to what's going on today in the islands. Lots of practical tips about how to survive in the islands, both on a social level and in terms of coping with the high cost of living. This writer really knows Hawaii and does a good job of sharing what she knows. I would think tourists would be interested as well as people who have just moved to Hawaii.

Most books about exotic places are written by people who come from afar, do their homework, and go home to write about it. Nothing wrong with that. But an insider picks up the subtleties that others miss. Jill Engledow has lived on Maui most of her adult life and wrote for the Maui News for many years. She covered every aspect of island life and then some. This book is meant for people thinking about moving to Maui or who have just landed with all their earthly posessions looking for a new life. "Maui 101" contains all kinds of useful tips that will make settling on the Valley Isle much easier. Life is different in Hawaii, and it sure helps to have a detailed guide for new residents at your finger tips.

Of the various books I have read about Maui, Jill Engledow's is by far the most informative.She paints an excellent picture of the culture and history of Maui. You gain so much insight and understanding of the Island and it's people, she actually puts you there and provides such great insights that I have not found in the texts. Alas. don't leave home with out FIRST reading Maui 101.

This is a great little cookbook. The recipes are all very easy and quick. Perfect for throwing your own taco party.

This cookbook brings back memories of days at the Kamaole Beach park on Maui. We would run across South Kihei Road and grab a huge Maui Tacos burrito. I may not be able to sit under a lauhala tree and watch a dazzling Maui sunset to the sound of crashing waves while enjoying the Maui-Mex food, but the book helps me recreate the great burritos and salsas with Hawaiian names that I remember so well.
The recipes are easy enough for cooks of any skill level and they are especially good for folks who like to grill meat. Mark Ellman makes Mexican food sing with subtle Hawaiian flavors...and the salsas dance the hula in your mouth.

Mmm. Mexican cuisine!

Well, Maui-Mex cuisine, actually.

But how do you prepare it? This book offers some good advice and useful recipes. Obviously, you need good ingredients and you should try to serve food when it is fresh.

This book teaches some fundamentals, such as how to prepare rice, beans, and potatoes. Then we learn about marinades, guacamoles, and salsas. After that, burritos, tacos, and other items right from the Maui Tacos menus. Finally, a few desserts and drinks. It is a fine basic cookbook. Enjoy it!

Of Love and War is a fast moving novel based around Pearl Harbor. You experience the attack from several individual perspectives. Once you get into chapter 3 you will find it hard to lay it down.

The research for this book was excellent. I got the feeling that I got an accurate depiction of what went on in Washington as well as Hawaii. Mixing this history into a fictional story made it interesting.

Steve Brown writes with the best of them. His novel, "Of Love and War", is one of the best I have ever read about the 40's and the entrance of the US into WWII. His research is flawless and his characters are real and believable. It is easy to get caught up in this one and hard to put down. I lived through the era and spent 26 years in the military. Looking forward to a sequel.

There is almost something like a signature or a finger print that lets you know that you are reading one of David Walks-As-Bear's novels. His worlds are inter-dimensionally spiritual, mystical and emotionally engrossing. He always takes his readers someplace where the ordinary does not exist. In his world, he lives with one foot in the material world while the other is immersed dreams, visions and his inner senses. He plays with the readers own sense of reality at times. His latest book in a continuing series of classic Ely Stone novels, "Old Money" takes us to even deeper inner depths of this American Indian tribal cop as he explores the Hawaiian Islands were he has been sent by his tribe to investigate land acquired by his tribe.

The story is a strange and interesting blending of that mystical magic of the author's own Indian cultural along with the mysticism of the old ancient Hawaiian beliefs and religion. Added to that mix are some actual historical events which make this book explode with adventure. This gives his storyline a very unique foundation. There is nothing simple or normal in the plot as we dig up and discover connections with Mark Twain, the Civil War, an old Confederate warship ship named the C.S.S. Shenandoah and our hero's many visions and dreams. There is absolutely no way that you have ever read anything like this before, let alone even dreamt about it. This is so fresh and new and full of energy and mystery.

The author's main character in this series is Ely Stone. He has created this man of mystery with some human flaws and inner demons and conflicts. The character is tormented by his visions and dreams but also by his checkered past. His girl friend Nettie Cole back in Michigan, thinks he can kill much too easily for her likes, even though he was in a situation of defending himself. As with all of the author's previous books he is a master of fleshing out the people he writes about. None of them are cardboard characters; he has rogue Muslins, an antiques dealer, major villains and Secret Service agents among others. He also becomes a suspect in several murders.

He uses dialog as a strong bridge that fully supports and gives the reader an understanding and connection to all the action. It is skillfully written and shows the all around writing skills that Walks-As-Bear has. The phrasing is a joy to read as it allows your mind to absorb what is happening or what the setting may be.

This book is like a good jigsaw puzzle and the more you get into it the more you become obsessed on finding those missing pieces to complete the picture. You will want to know what the ship was carrying. There is also a discovery a journal written by Sam Clemens (Mark Twain) which gives details of the location of an unimaginable treasure in Hawaii if true.

It is not a book that you can just sit and read for a few minutes and then pick up days later on. It is best enjoyed in several longer readings where you can become, in an almost Zen like way, one with the book's storyline. This would be a wonderful vacation book to read on a beach in Hawaii, or some other island paradise, or on a cruise, or just in your backyard on a weekend. It is that kind of book.

One interesting side note about this book is that most all of the facts like the ship and Mark Twain are all based on the author's research and are fact based events. It is once again, the twisting together of fact and fiction that makes Walks-As-Bear novels feel so mysterious.

This book receives the MWSA's highest book rating of FIVE STARS! It also gets my personal endorsement.

When I first heard about "Old Money", I was intrigued. Let's see, A retired Coast Guardsman, American Indians, Native Hawaiians, the Civil War Vietnam, and Civil War Warship, Mysticism, Spiritualism and of course Money.

I will admit that I wondered with all of this going on would I get lost in it all and lose interest and put it on a shelf or get caught up in it and not be able to put it down.

It takes a special kind of author to be able to blend several intertwined stories in to one complete package that you keep thinking just a couple more pages then I will go to sleep. David Walks As Bear does this masterfully!
I was going on a week of vacation, hoping to enjoy a couple of good reads. I finished up the first one quickly, So I picked up "Old Money", I bought so I might as well see how David Walks As Bear writes.

After the first 2 or 3 chapters, I found myself wondering where is this all going and simultaneously finding I can't wait to see what happens next.

I wanted it to rain so I could stay in the cabin and continue on my journey with Ely Stone. Alas, no rain so I stayed up way to late turning page after page.

David develops the characters so you could recognize them if you saw them on the street, and some of them if you did recognize them you would probably go in the opposite direction quickly.

Characters; good guys, bad guys, good girls, college professors, secret service agents, Bull Anuenur and of course Amos plus more that you get to know.

Ely Stone himself does not fit well in to a box, parts of Rambo, James Bond, Dirk Pitt and Indiana Jones, but he has a deep soul and you get glimpses in to the inter soul of Ely as the story move along.


I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story and the author in now on my must read list!

I wonder how I can begin to describe this outstanding novel by David-Walks-As-Bear. Inside the covers of this book you will find Tribal Officer Ely Stone, a man with a heart of gold and a life of mystery and adventure, one that is about to embark on another spiritual journey to right the wrongs of the past.
Ely is on another case and you can be sure despite his regrets his ancestors are making known to him by dreams and visions that something must be corrected. We find Ely's true love Nettie still at arms length and are introduced to some new found women friends who add just the right amount of spice to this work.
What does old money have to do with anything? Mark Twain seems to have left a famous writing which may well hold the secret to a fortune and lives will be lost and changed forever as the race is on to make sense of the mystery. Traveling with Ely in his mind we are privy to information that is revealed to him in dreams and vision as Ely struggles to make sense of the picture show that plays within him. We are taken from the past to the present, introduced to men of old who played a pivoted part in the present day affairs and we are favored to meet new characters with interesting personalities and see again those from previous works whom we have come to enjoy.
Let me say this, as with all of David's books this one is no slacker.
It is full of history, mystery, mysticism, adventure, romance and has a just plain down-right great storyline that keeps you glued to the pages from chapter to chapter.
This book is well worth your time, a top-of-the-notch read that will entertain you in every area a good book should. Highly recommended.

As I anticipated this publication on Pacific jewelry and adornment is a striking publication. It is beautifully designed and printed.

There are over 240 high-quality photographs illustrating an awesome selection of objects from around the Pacific. The first class photography reveals the exquisite details of artistry used with various materials - all round this book makes great pacific ornamental reference material.

Enhanced throughout with the superb color images of Auckland-based photographer Krzysztof Pfeiffer, Pacific Jewelry And Adornment is the collaborative work of Roger Neich (Curator of Ethnology, Auckland Museum and Professor of Anthropology, University of Auckland) and Fuli Pereira (Curator of the Pacific Collection, Auckland Museum). This impressively informative work of art history showcases 250 representative examples of traditional jewelry from the Pacific made from the raw materials of jade, whale tooth and bone, shark teeth, tapa, shells, and plant fibers. Insightful information is provided to the use of personal decorative items to reflect power, status and community, as well as their significance with respect to high ceremonial occasions. Drawn from the collections of the Auckland Museum, these illustrative items reflect the vast geographical areas of the Pacific from Micronesia, Papua, New Guinea, and Fiji, to Samoa, Tonga, Hawaii, New Zealand, and the Cook Islands. Pacific Jewelry And Adornment is a strongly recommended addition to any academic or community library Oceanic Culture or Art History collection.

Roger Neich is one of the leading experts in Pacific ethnology with a score of informative and readable books and catalogs to his credit. Pacific Jewelry and Adornment is the most recent addition to his remarkable published work. Incorporating some of the best examples of Pacific Jewelry from the Aukland Museum and other collections, the book provides a concise and detailed overview of the diversity of styles, while outlining the forces of migration and trade that influenced the dispersal of form and material. As an ethnologist who has studied and written on Pacific adornment, I have read pretty much everything there is on the subject, and this book is the single best source. Beautifully illustrated also.

John Van Sant, a professor of Japanese History at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, has written an approachable and engaging look back at some of the very first Japanese travelers to the United States in the mid to late 1800s.

For the student of Asian-American History or Early Modern Asian Japanese History, Pacific Pioneers, is an invaluable reference that bridges the gap between the broad view of early Japan-U.S. interaction and the Japanese political reaction to it. Many of the popular books that deal with this area of history are concerned with its larger events such as the Perry and Iwakura Missions.

Van Sant's book is about individuals who came to a foreign land, and were instrumental in defining how the Western world viewed a recently opened island nation. Van Sant's scholarship is through and compiles a great deal of information that is often lost in the larger events of the period. Even those who aren't interested in Asian or Asian-American History can appreciate the people Van Sant has researched for their sense of wonder and discovery as some of the first to leave their homeland, which was closed off to nearly all foreign intercourse for over 200 years.

I find the book especially engaging because it examines how Americans reacted to their foreign visitors during a time when man of today's stereotypes about the Japanese culture had not been developed. Also, by examining the way in which the New World was viewed by the Japanese visitors, the reader can see how foreigners reacted to the Western world and found their culture to be exotic, captivating, and at times, frightening. The book is a revealing and honest look at how different cultures are viewed by people that were truly foreign to them.

A book I recommend for anyone who is interested in history on a very personal and revealing level.

This is a truly absorbing read. Author John Van Sant casts light on a little-explored corner of American history about which, I'm willing to bet, few readers have any knowledge at all. Some may be vaguely aware that a handful of shipwrecked Japanese sailors fetched up on American shores in the first half of the nineteenth century or that large Japanese embassies toured this country in 1860 and 1871-72. But how many know that scores of Japanese students were living in such an unlikely place as New Brunswick, New Jersey in the late 1860s and 1870s, studying about American institutions as well as "big guns" and "big ships." Or that several young Japanese aristocrats--including a later titan of Meiji Japan--were holed up in a utopian commune, under the watchful eye of an eccentric guru, doing housework and tending grapevines? Or that other countrymen and women of less elevated status, fleeing worsening economic conditions back home, were scraping out a bare living in Hawaii and northern California?

In clear economic prose, thankfully free of academic jargon, Van Sant explores each of these expatriate communities in some depth. (Oddly enough, the author makes no mention whatsoever of the troupes of Japanese entertainers criss-crossing the country during this same period. Even Mark Twain complained bitterly in 1867 about having to compete with a company of Japanese acrobats for an audience.) He also does the historical record a considerable service by freeing some of these pioneers--the "mysterious" Wakamatsu Colony of Gold Hill, California being a prime example--from an encrustation of myth. If I have any quibble at all with Pacific Pioneers, it is that it is too short. Highly recommended!

I think that Dr Van Sant tells a compelling tale of the first wave of Japanese settlers who came to the United States and Hawaii. This book is for anybody who is interested in Asian American History. It should be the first book cracked open for any student who signs up to take any Asian studies class, either in the undergraduate or post-graduate world. I loved it.