Paradise of the Pacific
Approaching Hawaii
Farrar Straus & Giroux · Print & ebook · September 1, 2015
The dramatic history of America's tropical paradise The history of Hawaii may be said to be the story of arrivals—from the eruption of volcanoes on the ocean floor 18,000 feet below, the first hardy seeds that over millennia found their way to the islands, and the confused birds blown from their migratory routes, to the early Polynesian adventurers who sailed across the Pacific in double canoes, the Spanish galleons en route to the Philippines, and the British navigators in search of a Northwest Passage, soon followed by pious Protestant missionaries, shipwrecked sailors, and rowdy Irish poachers escaped from Botany Bay—all wanderers washed ashore, sometimes by accident.
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- Genres
- Western U.S. History, Oceania History, Exploration & Discovery
- Published
- Farrar Straus & Giroux, September 1, 2015
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Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved. Most of these share its genre: Western U.S. History.
Captive ParadiseJames L. Haley80% matchAlso shares Oceania History
Lost KingdomJulia Flynn Siler72% match
Taking HawaiiStephen Dando-Collins62% match
The Wide Wide SeaHampton Sides57% matchAlso shares Exploration & Discovery
Fighting in ParadiseGerald Horne57% match
Island at the Edge of the WorldMike Pitts57% matchAlso shares Oceania History
Sea of GloryNathaniel Philbrick57% matchAlso shares Exploration & Discovery
For younger readers: Aloha Everything, Where Is Easter Island?, Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic
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The dramatic history of America's tropical paradise The history of Hawaii may be said to be the story of arrivals—from the eruption of volcanoes on the ocean floor 18,000 feet below, the first hardy seeds that over millennia found their way to the islands, and the confused birds blown from their migratory routes, to the early Polynesian adventurers who sailed across the Pacific in double canoes, the Spanish galleons en route to the Philippines, and the British navigators in search of a Northwest Passage, soon followed by pious Protestant missionaries, shipwrecked sailors, and rowdy Irish poachers escaped from Botany Bay—all wanderers washed ashore, sometimes by accident.
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This is true of many cultures, but in Hawaii, no one seems to have left. And in Hawaii, a set of myths accompanied each of these migrants—legends that shape our understanding of this mysterious place. In Paradise of the Pacific, Susanna Moore, the award-winning author of In the Cut and The Life of Objects, pieces together the elusive, dramatic story of late-eighteenth-century Hawaii—its kings and queens, gods and goddesses, missionaries, migrants, and explorers—a not-so-distant time of abrupt transition, in which an isolated pagan world of human sacrifice and strict taboo, without a currency or a written language, was confronted with the equally ritualized world of capitalism, Western education, and Christian values.
A Clear View
Come here for
- Hawaii as a cultural crossroads
- History with an observing eye
Expect
- Cultural context over grand pronouncements
- A sustained, readable narrative
Where it sits
| Western U.S. History | 77% |
|---|---|
| Oceania History | 60% |
| Exploration & Discovery | 31% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Western U.S. History
- Oceania History
- Authors
- Susanna Moore
- Publisher
- Farrar Straus & Giroux
- Published
- September 1, 2015
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- Western U.S. History