Hawaii
James A. Michener (1959)

THE A5 BOOK REVIEW

Hawaii is a very captivating historical fiction novel by James Michener, published in 1959, the same year Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state.  Like most of his work, the book is based on exhaustive research on the history of this region, starting with the creation of the islands due to volcanic activity.  Michener then introduces us to the original Hawaiians, Polynesian explorers who sailed to Hawaii from Bora Bora to settle on this island paradise.  The story then continues with the arrival of Christian missionaries in the 1800s, the immigration of the Chinese who came to work on pineapple and sugarcane plantations, the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, and ending with a summary of how these different ethnic groups end up assimilating.   It is a long book, like most of his work, but Michener’s storytelling makes it a fascinating and worthwhile read.
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ABOUT JAMES MICHENER

James Michener was a best-selling American author of more than 40 books, with approximately 75m-100m copies sold.  Most of his books were lengthy, meticulously researched fictional novels covering the lives of many generations in a family, focusing on a specific geographic setting and telling the story of that region’s history through the eyes of that family.  He has won many awards for his work, and he is known for giving more than $100m to charity. 

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GREAT QUOTES:

“Therefore, men of Polynesia and Boston and China and Mount Fuji and the barrios of the Philippines, do not come to these islands empty-handed, or craven in spirit, or afraid to starve. There is no food here. In these islands there is no certainty. Bring your own food, your own gods, your own flowers and fruits and concepts. For if you come without resources to these islands you will perish... On these harsh terms the islands waited.” 
- James Michener, Hawaii

INTERESTING LINKS:

MAP - HAWAII