Frommer's Kauai - Jeanette Foster [29]
For a history of “precontact” Hawaii (before Westerners arrived), David Malo’s Hawaiian Antiquities (Bishop Museum Press, 1976) is the preeminent source. Malo was born around 1793 and wrote about the Hawaiian lifestyle at that time, as well as the beliefs and religion of his people. It’s an excellent reference book, but not a fast read. For more readable books on Old Hawaii, try Stories of Old Hawaii, by Roy Kakulu Alameida (Bess Press, 1997), on myths and legends; Hawaiian Folk Tales, by Thomas G. Thrum (Mutual Publishing, 1998); and The Legends and Myths of Hawaii, by His Hawaiian Majesty King David Kalakaua (Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1992).
The best story of the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy is told by Queen Liliuokalani, in her book Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen Liliuokalani (Mutual Publishing, 1990). When it was written, it was an international plea for justice for her people, but it is a poignant read even today. It’s also a must-read for people interested in current events and the recent rally for sovereignty in the 50th state. Two contemporary books on the question of Hawaii’s sovereignty are Tom Coffman’s Nation Within: The Story of America’s Annexation of the Nation of Hawaii (Epicenter, 1998) and Thurston Twigg-Smith’s Hawaiian Sovereignty: Do the Facts Matter? (Goodale, 2000), which explores the opposite view. Twigg-Smith, former publisher of the statewide newspaper The Honolulu Advertiser, is the grandson of Lorrin A. Thurston, one of the architects of the 1893 overthrow of the monarchy. His so-called “politically incorrect” views present a different look on this hotly debated topic.
An insightful look at history and its effect on the Hawaiian culture is Waikiki, A History of Forgetting and Remembering, by Andrea Feeser (University of Hawaii Press, 2006). A beautiful art book (designed by Gaye Chan), this is not your typical coffee-table book, but a different look at the cultural and environmental history of Waikiki. Using historical texts, photos, government documents, and interviews, this book lays out the story of how Waikiki went from a self-sufficient agricultural area to a tourism mecca, detailing the price that was paid along the way.
FILM
My favorite films made in Hawaii but about other places are:
• Donovan’s Reef: John Ford directed this 1963 John Wayne romantic comedy about two ex-Navy men who remain on a South Seas island (played by Kauai) after World War II. “Guns” Donovan (Wayne) runs the local bar, while Doc Dedham (Jack Warden) has married a local princess. A former shipmate (Lee Marvin) arrives, followed by a high-society Bostonian (Elizabeth Allen).
• Islands in the Stream: Filmed on Kauai, this 1977 movie tells the story of Ernest Hemingway’s last published novel. Set on the island of Bimini in the Caribbean, it is about artist Thomas Hudson’s renewed relationship with his three young sons and former wife.
• Jurassic Park: Filmed on the islands of Kauai and Oahu, Steven Spielberg’s 1993 megahit, which was billed as “an adventure 65 million years in the making,” is the story of dinosaurs on the loose at the site of the world’s only dinosaur farm and theme park, where creatures from the past are produced using harvested DNA.
• The Karate Kid, Part II: In one of those instances where the sequel is actually better than the original, this 1986 movie takes our hero Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and his mentor, Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), to Miyagi’s homeland, Okinawa, to visit his dying father and confront his old rival. An entire Okinawan village was re-created on Oahu’s Windward Coast.
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park: In Steven Spielberg’s 1997 follow-up to Jurassic Park, dinosaurs have been bred and then escaped following the abandonment of the project in the first installment. The sequel features much more Hawaiian scenery than the original.
• None But the Brave: Frank Sinatra directed and starred in this 1965 story of American