02-10-2008, 05:42 AM
Just echoing mella's comment, the first chapter story of the birth of the islands, accurate or not, is not what I'm interested in. It is likely that Michener presented the geological facts as they were understood in 1959, because Michener, as I said earlier, is known for his research.
My interest in the book "Hawaii" was in the various cultures, from the stories of the original Polynesian adventurers who became the first Hawaiians, to the impacts (negative and positive) of the missionaries, the whalers, the plantation owners, and the effects of importing the Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Portuguese, and other cultures. I guess I was looking for some kind of historical perspective on the single most diverse society in the world, and I think I found it in Michener's book.
Like the imperfect knowledge of geology that was known in 1959, I'm certain that Michener had imperfect knowledge of the history of the various cultures, too. I've ordered some more books about the history of Hawai'i from Amazon.com, so that I can put Michener into perspective.
I really did enjoy Michener's book, though. He covered a lot of ground, and seems like he tried to be impartial.
Aloha! ;-)
My interest in the book "Hawaii" was in the various cultures, from the stories of the original Polynesian adventurers who became the first Hawaiians, to the impacts (negative and positive) of the missionaries, the whalers, the plantation owners, and the effects of importing the Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Portuguese, and other cultures. I guess I was looking for some kind of historical perspective on the single most diverse society in the world, and I think I found it in Michener's book.
Like the imperfect knowledge of geology that was known in 1959, I'm certain that Michener had imperfect knowledge of the history of the various cultures, too. I've ordered some more books about the history of Hawai'i from Amazon.com, so that I can put Michener into perspective.
I really did enjoy Michener's book, though. He covered a lot of ground, and seems like he tried to be impartial.
Aloha! ;-)
Aloha! ;-)