Aloha: Here are some of the best books to read about Hawaii and its culture
The beautiful Hawaiian Islands have always attracted visitors. Author and adventurer Mark Twain famously spent time in Hawaii on assignment to write about his visit.
He wrote, “I went to Maui to stay a week and remained five. I had a jolly time. I would not have fooled away any of it writing letters under any consideration whatsoever.” (“Mark Twain’s Letters from Hawaii”).
Today’s travelers can take advantage of current travel guides available at all the libraries and consult both “Born in Fire: a geologic history of Hawaii,” by John Rublowsky, and “The Nature of Earth, part 2” (DVD) by John Renton for information on Hawaii’s natural history.
Hawaii became the 50th state on Aug. 21, 1959, but its history started long before that. Ruth M. Tabrah’s 1980 book, “Hawaii: a Bicentennial History,” goes beyond the state’s romantic image and presents it as a crossroads culture.
The 2015 book “Paradise of the Pacific: approaching Hawaii” by Susannah Moore concentrates on Hawaii’s history in the late 1800s and looks at all the groups who have come to the islands, and have never left despite encountering enormous challenges.
The indomitable spirit showed by the Hawaiian people is illustrated in “The Three Year Swim Club: the untold story of Maui’s Sugar Ditch Kids,” by Julie Checkoway. It is the inspiring story of a group of poor children who trained in sugar plantation irrigation ditches, then went on to earn places on the 1948 U.S. Olympic swimming team, winning every event.
Biographies of Hawaii’s only queen and last reigning monarch include “The Last Princess: The Story of Princess Ka’iulani of Hawaii,” and “The Last Queen of Hawaii: Liliuokalani.” Liliuokalani, also a songwriter, composed the iconic “Aloha Oe, (Farewell to Thee), heard on many of the CDs listed below.
Martha Beckwith’s “Hawaiian Mythology,” “Pele: Goddess of Hawaii’s Volcanos,” cookbooks such as “The Poké Cookbook,” by Martha Cheng and “Cooking Hawaiian Style,” (Hoopla Digital) and “The Hawaiian Dictionary” are just a few of the helpful library resources.
Enjoy distinctive Hawaiian music on “Hawaiian Magic: best of the islands,” “Hawaiian Love Songs,” “Hawaiian Favorites” by Don Ho, and “Authentic Luau Party Music.”
For pure entertainment, “Blue Hawaii” and “Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii Concert” are available on DVD. For history, see Herman Wouk’s World War II mini-series, “Winds of War,” “Tora, Tora, Tora,” the classic Pearl Harbor movie documenting the attack from both sides, and “From Here to Eternity” featuring actual footage of the Pearl Harbor attack.
A keyword search of the library catalog for Pearl Harbor provides an extensive list of materials on that tragic event including an audio CD: “Pearl Harbor Attacked: every known surviving radio broadcast from Dec. 7, 1941.” These broadcasts are both moving and chilling in their stark recitation of the news as it was being made.
Judy Mullen is an assistant supervisor at Braden River Branch Library. Speaking Volumes, written by Manatee County Public Library System staff members, is published each Sunday in the Bradenton Herald. You can access the library via the Internet: www.mymanatee.org/library.