Visit the Road Scholar Bookshop
You can find many of the books we recommend at the Road Scholar store on
bookshop.org, a website that supports local bookstores.
Born in Paradise
by Armine von Tempski
The autobiographical tale of childhood on a Maui ranch in the early part of this century. A classic account of old Hawaii, warm-spirited and evocative.
Pearl Harbor Ghosts, The Legacy of December 7, 1941
by Thurston Clarke
A well-researched and evocative look at the bombing of Pearl Harbor by a veteran travel writer. Clarke compares and contrasts the social life and culture of Hawaii on the day of the bombing and sixty years later, enumerating the changes wrought by WWII.
Hawaii
by James Michener
A romantic, fictional overview of the islands' history, people and culture from prehistoric times to statehood in 1959.
From a Native Daughter, Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii
by Haunani-Kay Trask
Trask, a descendant of the Pi'ilani line of Maui and the Kahakumakaliua line of Kauai, explores issues of racism and imperialism in Hawaii, documenting the work of native Hawaiian student organizations and the native Hawaiian self-governing organization Ka Lahuni Hawaii.
Nation Within, The History of the American Occupation of Hawai'i
by Tom Coffman
Coffman follows the rising tensions between the U.S. and the once-independent Hawaii through the late 19th century, documenting how the native population resisted annexation.
Hawaiian Mythology
by Martha Warren Beckwith
A classic study of Hawaiian ethnography and folklore.
Hawaiian Islands Map
by Nelles
A map of all the individual Hawaiian Islands, including maps of O'ahu, Kaua'i, Maui, Moloka'i and Lana'i at 1:150,000 and of Hawai'i at 1:330,000. Includes an inset map of Waikiki.
Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii
by Mark Twain
These observant and often wildly hilarious letters from an 1866 trip display Twain's famous wit.
The Island Edge of America, A Political History of Hawaii
by Tom Coffman
Journalist Tom Coffman brings Hawaii's story into the twentieth century through this reinterpretation of major events leading up to and following statehood in 1959.
Eyewitness Guide Hawaii
by Eyewitness Guides
An on-the-ground guide to the Hawaiian Islands -- handsome, comprehensive and superb.
Hawaii, Travellers' Wildlife Guides
by Les Beletsky
This all-around field guide features color illustrations of commonly encountered birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish with notes on Hawaii's geology and popular parks and reserves.
Aloha Betrayed
by Noenoe K. Silva
Silva draws on newspapers, books, letters and contemporary accounts in Hawaiian for this eye-opening account of popular resistance to the annexation of Hawaii by the United States.
Dismembering Lahui, A History of the Hawaiian Nation to 1887
by Jon Kamakawiwoole Osorio
Osorio charts the effects of Western law on the national identity of Native Hawaiians in this political history of the Kingdom of Hawaii from the onset of constitutional government in 1840 to the Bayonet Constitution of 1887.
Volcanoes, Fire From the Earth
by Maurice Krafft
By the great French volcanologist (who died on the job on Mount Unzen in Japan in 1992), this pocket guide features hundreds of full-color paintings and traces the study of volcanoes from early myth and legend to modern science.
Voyage to the Volcano
by Judith Bauer Stamper
From the popular Magic School Bus series. Ms. Frizzle takes her class to Hawaii, for an explosive tour of a live volcano.
Into The Volcano
by Donna O'Meara
O'Meara's lively, illustrated eyewitness accounts of adventures in volcanology include Arenal in Costa Rica, Kilauea in Hawaii and Stromboli off the coast of Italy. Geared for grades 5 to 8, this is a great introduction to volcanoes for the whole family.
Plague And Fire, Battling Black Death And the 1900 Burning of Honolulu's Chinatown
by James C. Mohr
Mohr relates the gripping tale of the bubonic plague that reached Hawaii's shores just as the islands were about to become a U.S. territory through the eyes of the people caught up in the vast conflagration that engulfed Honolulu's Chinatown.
Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen
by Liliuokalani
A poignant plea for sovereignty. Queen Liliuokalani, deposed by the United States in 1893, tells the story of her islands.
Paradise Remade, The Politics of Culture and History in Hawaii
by Elizabeth Bentzel Buck
By focusing on the experience of the indigenous people of Hawaii rather than on that of their colonizers, Buck considers the transformation of Hawaiian culture over the past 200 years.
Hawaii Wildlife
by James Kavanagh
A fold-up, laminated card featuring color drawings and short descriptions of commonly encountered birds, mammals and other critters of Hawaii.
Under the Blood Red Sun
by Graham Salisbury
This novel set on Oahu immediately before, during and after the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor features as its protagonist a 13-year-old Japanese-American boy. The book is a sensitive treatment of a grave collision of cul-tures, geared for kids ages 9 to 12.
Hawaii, Islands Under the Influence
by Noel J. Kent
A history of economic development in the islands from sandalwood and whaling to sugar, tourism and Japanese investment in the 1980s.
Captive Paradise, A History of Hawaii
by James L. Haley
A fascinating history of America’s youngest (and, arguably, most unique) state. Historian and biographer James Haley charts Hawaii’s epic journey from kingdom to statehood with authority.
Hawaiian Legends of the Guardian Spirits
by Caren Loebel-Fried
Ancient legends are brought to life in 60 beautiful block prints, many vibrantly colored, and narrated in a lively "read-aloud" style, just as storytellers of old may have told them hundreds of years ago.
Stowaway
by Karen Hesse
For this novel, renowned children's author Karen Hesse imagines the voyages of Captain Cook (including landings in Australia and New Zealand), from the point of view of a young stowaway named Nicholas. Ages 9-14.
The Food of Paradise, Exploring Hawaii's Culinary Heritage
by Rachel Laudan
Laudan takes readers on a thoughtful, wide-ranging tour of Hawaii's farms and gardens, fish auctions and vegetable markets, fairs and carnivals, mom-and-pop stores and lunch wagons to uncover the delightful complexities and incongruities in Hawaii's culinary history. With 150 recipes.
Sand to Sea, Marine Life of Hawaii
by Ed Robinson (Photographer), Ann Fielding, Stephanie Feeney
Young readers will dive right into this lively, illustrated introduction to the animal and plant life they'll find on the beaches, tide pools and reefs of Hawaii. Geared to both kids and adults, this is a nice introduction for the whole family.
