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.
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.
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.
Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands
by Gavan Daws
A vivid, scholarly history of Hawaii, from Cook's first visit to the islands in 1778 through statehood. A classic, well-told history, first published in 1968.
Oahu Revealed
by Andrew Doughty
Candid, comprehensive and well illustrated, this up-to-date local guide covers the nature and culture of the island as well as adventures and activities.
Hotel Honolulu
by Paul Theroux
This hilarious sendup of ex-pats and their ilk, drawing on Theroux's time in the islands, where he has a home, features a full cast of eccentrics who reside in and visit a fleabag hotel on the coast of Oahu.
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.
Eyewitness Guide Hawaii
by Eyewitness Guides
An on-the-ground guide to the Hawaiian Islands -- handsome, comprehensive and superb.
Lost Kingdom
by Julia Flynn Siler
Royalty and rogues, sugar barons, politicians and missionaries all figure in Siler's riveting tale of Liliuokalani, the last queen of Hawaii.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Travelers' Tales Hawai'i True Stories
by Rick Carroll (Editor)
This terrific anthology includes contributions on the history, culture and nature of Hawaii by an impressive group of writers, including Paul Theroux, John McPhee and Maxine Hong Kingston.
Shore Fishes of Hawaii
by John Randall
A pocket field guide to all the reef fishes that a casual snorkeler or diver is likely to see.
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.
Moloka'i
by Alan Brennert
Set in Hawaii more than a century ago, Brennert's richly imagined novel of seven-year-old Rachel Kalama -- full of tales of stories of old Hawaii -- draws on historical accounts of Kalaupapa, the isolated leper colony on the island of Moloka'I.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
by Trails Illustrated
This handy map, with trails and visitor information, includes the entire park area.
A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific
by H. Douglas Pratt
This landmark field guide with chapters on the islands and habitats features superb color plates by Pratt and a checklist of birds.
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.
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.
Unfamiliar Fishes
by Sarah Vowell
Tracking the Americanization of Hawaii from the arrival of the first missionaries in 1820 to the annexation in 1898 (Queen Liliuokalani was in Washington lobbying to save her nation during the McKinley inauguration), Vowell shows the complex interplay of god, business and tradition with her usual acerbic wit (and research).
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.
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.
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.
Hawaii
by James Michener
A romantic, fictional overview of the islands' history, people and culture from prehistoric times to statehood in 1959.
