HAWAII NEI

The surface features of Hawaii's geography and way of life, plus the major events in her history, are enumerated in this lengthy (294 pages) introduction. Occasional detailed treatment--of Captain Cook's arrival or the growing of sugar cane--provides the liveliest reading; otherwise the style is encyclopedic with bows to the Hawaiian charm and spirit. Religion, medicine (ancient and modern), transportation, agriculture, ranching, fishing, education, holidays, urban life, climate, and racial variety are included, with a helpfully extensive index. History is treated briefly and separately, then aspects are recapitulated in each section, in contrast to A. Grove Day's chronological account which makes more interesting reading if chiefly history and current problems are wanted; for geography and customs, Charles Borden's Hawaii, the Fiftieth State has the same information as this much compressed in somewhat flatter prose; other books (Smith, Edelman) cover the subject with some variations. Depending on the state of your collection and the demand, this may not be needed; too long-winded for many readers, it is an affectionate (the author lives there) presentation of non-evaluative research that stands--or falls--on elaboration.