“Kamehameha III: He Mo‘olelo no ka Mo‘i Lokomaika‘i,” by P. Christiaan Klieger (Green Arrow Press, $29.95): Kauikeaouli, also known as Kamehameha III, was “the Hawaiian Kingdom’s most misunderstood king — but also the longest ruling, the most beloved, most accomplished and most defiant king,” writes P. Christiaan Klieger in this new biography. Klieger also authored “Moku‘ula: Maui’s Sacred Island,” about the 1993 discovery of Kauikeaouli’s royal palace complex in Lahaina.
“Kamehameha III” gives fitting tribute to this moi (sovereign), who, through his simultaneous resistance to Christian conversion and his encouragement of Hawaiian literacy, established an internationally recognized independent nation. Klieger’s responsible sourcing of long-ignored Hawaiian-language archives (newspapers, manuscripts, letters) attests to their historical value.
“Zimbabwe Spin: Politics and Poetics,” by Kathryn Waddell Takara (Pacific Raven Press, $16.95): In 1980, almost two decades after many other African nations achieved independence, Zimbabwe finally emerged from Rhodesia’s British colonial rule. Since then the country has experienced a multitude of ups and downs in its social, political and economic restructuring. Takara, a professor in the interdisciplinary studies program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 1971 to 2007, situates her poetics between these fluxes of power and powerlessness and provides space for Zimbabwe’s spiritual heritage, cultural wealth, healing traditions and exemplary humor in her quest to “seek regeneration / from (an) ancient African sun.”
“Kuleana and Commitment: Working Toward a Collaborative Hawaiian Archaeology,” by Kathleen L. Kawelu (University of Hawai‘i Press, $39): In “Kuleana and Commitment,” Kathleen Kawelu asserts that “archaeologists have responsibilities … especially (to) the people whose culture we study.” She understands the sociopolitical aspects of practicing archaeology in Hawaii today, where conflicts often arise.
For example, she revisits the exposing of iwi kupuna (ancestral remains) during the 2003 construction of the Walmart on Keeaumoku Street. Kanaka maoli communities decried “exemptions granted to developers, allowing (them) to skip archaeological surveys.”
Kawelu maps out possibilities for “a more collaborative way of doing archaeology” between academics and cultural communities. Her insights could prove useful in the debate about the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea.
“Thomas Kincaid: The Miracle of Pupukea,” by Sidney Hamamoto (self-published, $24.95): Sidney Hamamoto’s picturesque memoir starts in 1963 in Wahiawa, then “a sleepy small country community,” when a near tragedy unites two Leilehua High School football players: Thomas Kincaid and the author. The miracle is that Kincaid, apparently drowned, “somehow came to life” as Hamamoto pulled him from the ocean. In 1979, following a stint in the Navy, Kincaid founded International Turbine Service in Dallas. With affection and vividness, Hamamoto recounts how the two worked and traveled the world together, showing how lifelong connections can form from an event that lasted only a few minutes.
Page Turners highlights books by Hawaii authors and books about Hawaii or of interest to Hawaii readers. To submit a book for consideration, send a copy and information to Features Department, 500 Ala Moana Blvd. Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. For more information, email mpennybacker@staradvertiser.com or call 529-4772.
