Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands
by Gavan Daws
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Book Summary Information
Author: Gavan DawsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1989-02-01
ISBN: 0824803248
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Book Reviews of Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands
Book Review: 500+ Pages, And Still Incomplete!!
Summary: 4 Stars
Trying to write a history of the Hawaiian Islands---or any other place, for that matter---is like trying to teach the history of the British Empire in one three-hour college course; in other words, impossible! You've got to make hard choices about what to include, and what to leave out, and your choices often speak volumes about you as a writer of history and about the audience you intend to reach. Gavan Daws excellent book, Shoal of Time, does an admirable job in presenting as much history of Hawaii as possible in a manageable single volume that is (relatively) free from overt bias. He starts with the "discovery" of the islands by Captain Cook in the 1700's, moves through the Kamehameha monarchs and their often bloody battles (this section is one of the book's highlights), continues with the work of the missionaries (for better or worse, sometimes with tragic consequences), importation of oriental workers to help with the great sugar plantations, and finally finishes with Hawaii as a territory, WWII, and statehood. Dawes is mostly concerned in telling the various political intrigues that are woven throughout Hawaiian history: monarchs vs. monarchs, missionaries vs. "hedonists", foreigners vs natives and others; by concentrating his efforts in this direction, he accurately depicts the history of the islands as one fraught with controversies over citizenship, ownership, and how the fledgling territory and state is viewed by the world at large. Both Great Britain and the United States play significant roles and each at one time lays claim to the tiny republic; Dawes must be given special accolades for presenting the (at times) unsavory annexation attempts by both nations as factually and as completely free from bias as possible. An admirable job of storytelling, yet there are one or two subject matters that Dawes could have at least touched upon that would have made Shoal more complete, including: (1)ancient, pre-Cook Hawaii, (2) more discussion about islands other than Oahu and Maui, which take up close to 90% of the book, and (3)the rise of Hawaii as a tourist and cultural mecca, in the 1950's and beyond, and how such a rise will affect the future of the islands and the growing sovereignty movement. In short, Shoal of Time is a very fine work, and should be one of your first purchases when assembling your library of island history and Hawaiiana.
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