Status
Available
Call number
Publication
MacMillan
DDC/MDS
| 996.9 |
Description
Gavan Daws' remarkable achievement is to free Hawaiian history from the dust of antiquity. Based on years of work in the documentary sources, Shoal of Time emerges as the most readable of all Hawaiian histories.
User reviews
LibraryThing member ladycato
Shoal of Time may be tedious at times, but it's also incredibly comprehensive and fascinating. It took me weeks to make it through this book, and in the process, I created dozens of bookmarks for research purposes. The approach of the book feels very fair in its treatment of haoles (whites), native
While the book did require skimming in spots, it was a good read overall, and I can see why it has stayed in print for decades.
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Hawaiians, and the islands' history of misunderstanding, racism, and political corruption. It goes into detail on the first arrivals of foreigners, to Kamehameha, to the takeover of haoles and sugar companies and American annexation, to the attack on Pearl Harbor, to Hawaii gaining statehood. I had no idea that statehood was delayed for years because Hawaii, with its heavy populations of "foreigners" and union labor, was regarded as a hotbed of communism. The book contains a lot of interesting data like that.While the book did require skimming in spots, it was a good read overall, and I can see why it has stayed in print for decades.
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LibraryThing member mbmackay
This is a history of Hawaii that reflects the era in which it was written - the late 1960s.
It starts with Captain Cook's arrival in 1778. The amazing history of the settlement of Hawaii by Polynesian mariners from Tahiti is not covered in any detail.
We then move on to the reign of Kamehameha, which
Then comes the missionaries. A sequence of events unfolds through to the late 1930s, told almost exclusively through the eyes of the missionaries, traders and business settlers. There seems to be no visible curiosity for the impact of the changes on the lives of the Hawaiian people. Missionaries and Consuls come and go, but it is almost impossible to gain and understanding of the massive social changes that the Hawaiians undergo.
It starts with Captain Cook's arrival in 1778. The amazing history of the settlement of Hawaii by Polynesian mariners from Tahiti is not covered in any detail.
We then move on to the reign of Kamehameha, which
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is quite well covered, but again with a strong slant to the perspective of European traders, settlers and vagabonds. The crushing impact of alien diseases which decimated the population is barely mentioned.Then comes the missionaries. A sequence of events unfolds through to the late 1930s, told almost exclusively through the eyes of the missionaries, traders and business settlers. There seems to be no visible curiosity for the impact of the changes on the lives of the Hawaiian people. Missionaries and Consuls come and go, but it is almost impossible to gain and understanding of the massive social changes that the Hawaiians undergo.
Show Less
Original publication date
1968
ISBN
0824803248 / 9780824803247