Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands

Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands
reviewed on + 14 more book reviews


Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands might be of interest to readers who spend time in Hawaii. The author discusses our 50th state from the landing by Captain Cook to the day Hawaii acquired statehood. Many generations of native islanders and "haoles" had to endure much chaos and political unrest during the times of Hawaii's royalty and later as an American territory. The book is well researched...it has a 75 page bibliography! Some chapters are slow, like those dealing with legal battles or union troubles, but I ended the book with a much better understanding of what living on the islands was like before August 21, 1959.
(P.S. Have a map of the islands handy as the book has not one map to help you navigate the locations of the places and events detailed!)