Hawaii Books

This is THE guide to Hanauma Bay. Written by "Dr. Fish," this guide really complements Hoover's guides to Hawaiian fish. You'll notice in his Hawaii fish identification books that a lot of photos were taken at Hanauma Bay. Hence, his familiarity with the bay, its environs, and inhabitants.

Here's a little pointer that really makes the book work for me. John Hoover invites readers to make a color copy of the detailed underwater map of the bay, laminate it, and take it snorkeling or diving. I use it as a SCUBA map, with the coral reefs marked and the old telephone lines identified. Very useful.

I'd recommend this book for those who want an in depth understanding of Hanauma Bay.

Author Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi certainly did her homework with this spiral-bound book, Hanauma Bay: Hawaii's Coastal Treasure. If you want to know about Hawaii's first marine conservation district, this book rivals the others on Hanauma Bay for quality information.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what to do with it.

The reason I say that is because there are better books on fish identification. Hoover's book on Hanauma Bay (and on Hawaiian fish and invertebrates) is the one for snorkelers and divers. Susan Scott has a nice natural history book based on "zones" for the visitor.

But Hanauma Bay: Hawaii's Coastal Treasure has a niche. It should be in all Oahu libraries, and a required textbook for those going through volunteer training for the Bay's education programs. It also is a great book in the home of Oahu residents, so that their visitors can prepare themselves for a worthwhile trip.

This book does a really nice job reviewing the history of Hanauma Bay (pre and post human settlement), the management changes over the past 50 years, and the various programs, policies, and, yes, politics involved in the management of the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve.

It doesn't discuss that important lawsuit about charging non-residents a fee for access while residents get in free. Perhaps the case wasn't resolved at the time of publication (it was resolved by ruling that it was legal as long as all fees collected stayed in the park's budget).

I wish it covered more of the "disturbed" period. I realize that beautiful pictures of fish, coral, and scenery sells. But it is difficult to conceptualize the impacts of 10,000 visitors in a day, hundreds of cigarette butts in every square meter of sand, the swirls of fish being fed, and the folk who lugged out chucks of coral.

Notice that none of this stopped me from getting my own copy! And I got Tsutsumi and two of the photographers to sign it!

This is a required book for the Hanauma Bay aficionado.

I read the second edition of this book before moving to Honolulu three years ago, and still find it a very useful reference. Joe Bisignani gives you tons of interesting and useful information in an enjoyable writing style that captures the mood of the islands. Anyone who is the least interested in exploring Oahu beyond Waikiki Beach will find this book useful. Unlike the writers of some competing guidebooks, Bisignani is honest about labeling expensive tourist traps as such (it is telling that most of them have also shown up in the "Honolulu Weekly" annual readers' choice of "Best place to cruelly misdirect tourists"). Inbetween all the hard facts, Bisignani also manages to give the reader an accurate portrayal of the social climate of Oahu. Unlike most guidebooks, this one has an extensive and excellent history section, and there are also many references to fascinating Polynesian legends throughout the book. Warmly recommended!

The movie "In Harm's Way" with John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Patricia Neal among others was made from this novel, The story of Captain and later Rear Admiral Rockwell Torrey beginning with the Pearl Harbor attack and then being put in charge of a bogged down operation from a hesitant Vice Admiral and all the trials and tribulations involved therein, a little romance with Nurse Maggie Haynes and getting to know his estranged son Jere. The movie stays fairly true to the book.

I thought the book was fabulous because it told so many fascinating details about Hawaii and it had wonderful pictures of the beautiful islands of Hawaii. It also had so many interesting facts that I never knew before and it really helped me with my state report. I really recommend it for any kid or adult who would like to learn about Hawaii's history, culture and geography. I really thought the book was just amazing.

A friend found this book at a used book store and gave it to me. I can't believe that someone parted with this fabulous book. The articles featured in this compilation put forth such a vivid view of the personalities and life in Hawaii. Scattered throughout these articles are references to other great hawaiiana publications. A must-have for aficionados of hawaiian studies.

Islanders who want to keep a dog or cat in the tropics should consider this a 'must' acquisition for the home library. Hawaiian pets face many unique problems; from killer toads and aggressive mongooses to deadly plants and flash floods. This provides an unparalleled pet safety guide which should not be missed.

Beautiful says it all about the photography, writing and printing in this book!

This book helped make our trip to Oahu the most enjoyable vacation my family and I have taken recently. Great tips on what beaches to visit, the best time to get to the more popular spots. It was very easy to follow and just a wonderful book to have while traveling. It was worth every penny.

I will never vacation anywhere else without first purchasing a Fodor's Travel Book.

Thanks.

Here we are at the end of the From Sea to Shining Sea, Second Series, and if there is one thing I have learned about the 50th state in the past year it is that the correct spelling is Hawai'i and not Hawaii (but apparently it is still Hawaiians and not Hawai'ians). Not that P.J. Neri explicitly points that out in Introducing the Aloha State, Chapter One of this informative and colorful book. She simply uses the correct spelling about a dozen times on those first two pages. Even if the correct spelling of Hawai'i is not familiar to young readers most of what Neri says come to mind when people think of the state will be: the bombing of Pearl Harbor, lava flows and fountains of fire, pineapples, hula dancing, and ukuleles. Neri builds on that common knowledge to teach young students about the geography, history, government, people and places of the 50th state.

Chapter Two, The Land of Hawai'i, begins with the basic geological fact that the archipelago is not really a group of islands but really the tops of volcanic mountains. The other volumes in this series cover the different geographical regions of each state, but with Hawai'i that is not the case. Instead, Neri explains how each island has a nickname, an island color, and an official island flower or shell (e.g., O'ahu, "The Gathering Place," Yellow, "ilima"). She also covers how the tops of these volcanoes became lush green island paradises over time. However, it turns out there are several different climate regions in the islands (who would have expected a photograph of a snowboarder flying down the snow-covered slopes of Mauna Kea).

Chapter Three, Hawai'i Through History, begins with Polynesian pioneers sailing their canoes 2,000 miles to these islands and becoming the first Hawaiian settlers. Neri explains the Hawaiian culture that developed before getting around to the arrival of the Europeans and the destruction of the islands' sandalwood forests, harvested to be sold to the Chinese, in just 25 years. A section is devoted to the reign of Kamehameha the Great, the chieftain who united all of the islands under his rule, and another to the end of the kapu system. Hawai'i was recognized as an independent kingdom in 1826 by the United States, and what proved to be the undoing of the kingdom was the Great Mahele (land division) of 1848 and the rise of the sugarcane plantations, which eventually lead to the annexationists (if Hawai'i was annexed, then planters would not have to pay taxes to sell its sugar in the U.S.). Hawai'i n the 20th century is the story of pineapple plantations, tourism, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and finally statehood in 1959. However, the final section looks at the economic problems the state has suffered in recent years because economic problems in Asia and September 11th have both significantly reduced tourism to the islands.

Chapter Four, Governing Hawai'i begins with quick looks at the three branches of state government, and then Neri takes us on a tour of Honolulu, the state capital. A map of downtown Honolulu shows the location of key things to see, from the 'Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the U.S., to the King Kamehaemha the Great Statue and the Aloha Tower. The final chapter is about The People and Places of Hawai'i, with sections devoted to what they do for sports and work, and including a delicious recipe for Hawaiian Tropical Delight, which involves pineapples, coconut, mangos, mandarin oranges, and miniature marshmallows. Neri also covers Native Hawaiians today before taking her young readers on a tour of Hawai'i island by island to point out what you can see and do on each (how many people who visit Hawai'i actually visit all eight of the big islands?). The accompanying full color photographs remind you how spectacular the sights are in Hawai'I and the next time I go there I am going to spend more than a half-hour there and leave the airport.

There is additional information throughout the book provide in a series of sidebar categories. Who's Who is Hawai'i highlights key figures from Father Damien and Lydia Paki Kamekaha Lili'uokalani to Daniel K. Inoye and Duke Paoa Kahanamoku. Find Out More sidebars suggest topics for further research (e.g., what is being done to save the Hawaiian monk seal from extinction), while the Extra! Extra! sidebars explain the hula dance and the Polynesian Voyaging Society. Other sidebars are devoted to Famous Firsts (e.g, first revolving restaurant), What's in a Name? (e.g., Mauna Loa means "long mountain"), and a few key words of Hawaiian under the heading Special Language (e.g., "hale" means house). These little tidbits can help punch up a school report on Hawai'i.

The back of the book offers a Hawai'i Almanac consisting of two-pages of fast facts about the state seal and flag, key statistics, and a list of various products and state symbols. A Timeline contrasts Hawai'i state history on the top with U.S. history on the bottom, while the Gallery of Famous Hawaiians includes not only Do Ho and Bette Midler, but Jason Scott Lee and Ellison Onizuka. After the Glossary of key turns from "ahupua'a" to "tsunami," Neri provides a page of web sties, books and addresses that young students can turn to For More Information if for some reason they consider that necessary. But the From Sea to Shining Sea series does a nice job of fleshing out the basic elements of a geography and history book so that young students should find plenty to work with for a school report on any of the fifty states (or Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.). The first series was pretty good, but the second series is definitely better and there are bonus points for the way the color of the border of the cover always compliments the cover photograph.