HAWAII AND ITS PEOPLE

A social history of a Territory overdue for statehood is in good hands. Dr. Day has for many years been a teacher at the University of Hawaii and knows his people and his Islands well. Combined talents for absorbed research, clear organization and a lively expression make his book the most readable and up to date of recent studies. Chronological in scope yet mindful of the trends belonging together, his chapters deal with the important phases of Hawaiian history- early Polynesian migrations, discovery by Cook, Kamehameha's rise to power, first settlers and the use of Hawaii as a station for whale and sandalwood days, the missionaries, Kalakua and the last of the monarchs, sugar, pineapples and the modern industries. While the book is an orthodox spanning of these time periods, its focus is often sharp and dramatic. There is-for instance the fact that Cook had to be a God in his actions after the Hawaiians made him one- and then killed him in one of their rare moods of violence. How the Hawaiians took to imported religion is interesting; there was Hawaiian Hospitality instead in that. That the Territory now is more than ready for statehood is evident from its own economic effort and from the democracy that has grown to be as natural an ideal of Island life as the friendship between its many different kinds of people. Readable and marketable to the increased interest in visiting the Islands today.