Given the colonial history of Anglo-Europeans in Hawaii, I was really hoping to read a history book written by someone who is a native part of that culture, or at least has a personal stake in and deep respect for it. This is not the right book for you if you share the same goal.
Why would a person use Shakespeare as the title for a book about the Hawaiian islands? Think about the kind of person who would do such a thing. This person desperately needs you to know that he is smart, and he is woefully unaware of cultural context. This is a bad combo of traits in a normal person and a dangerous weapon in an academic.
Why would a person use the preface to his book as an opportunity to talk about how unqualified he was to write this book, before talking about himself, his success, himself, his success, for pages and pages?
What I'm saying is that this is a poorly written book by an unqualified author, and it's a nauseating reminder of how glib and disrespectful people can be about Hawaiian culture, even those who purport to be experts. I'm not going to go into more detail here because I'm not getting paid to write this but bottom line: If you care about and respect Hawaiian cultural history, look elsewhere. Read something by someone who isn't so stuck in his narrow personal perspective.
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