Gerrit Parmele Judd

This book is an accurate portrayal of the colorful history of the Islands of Hawaii, from before Captain James Cook's supposed discovery, to the changes Hawaii underwent when the U.S. claimed it for its own in 1959. This book is divided into three sections: Hawaii's History, Hawaiian Tradition and Places, and Hawaii in Literature. The first section features a look into history using mostly first-hand accounts, often extracted from diaries or journals, of those who were there. The second section features mostly interesting most interesting essays from people, the majority of them visitors, watching the beauty of the islands and their customs as outsiders looking in. The thirst section mainly consists of fictional stories (and a poem) of the islands written known classic authors, including Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack London, and Alfred Tennyson. If you are not a huge history buff, you might find the first section rather boring, but even those who don't much care about history would probably glean enjoyment from sections two and three. I personally liked the book as a whole, and I thought that it was very good and quite informative.… (mehr)