"The Empires’ Edge: Militarization, Resistance, and Transcending Hegemony in the Pacific," by Sasha Davis (University of Georgia Press, $22.95)

Why faraway places might become "disposable" and why governments centralize power and monitor their citizens are among the many questions asked in a fascinating geopolitical overview by Sasha Davis, an assistant professor of geography and environmental science at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

Davis explores differences in how locals and others see a place and, given tensions with North Korea and a global "war on terror," urges consideration of how U.S. military actions from Hiro­shima, Bikini Atoll and Tinian Island to Guam, Kahoolawe and Makua Valley might inform our current state.

"The Dark Side of Glory," by Richard McMahon (Telemachus Press, $16.95)

Fans of "M.A.S.H." (and who isn’t?) will enjoy this tale of sexual and military intrigue during the Korean War. Winner of a gold medal for historical fiction from the Military Writers Society of America, the narrative jumps about in time, for instance from a young woman’s murder in 1950s Tokyo to a burial at Punchbowl in 1969. There a deceased general’s biographer, hired by his widow, glimpses a young woman with "Asian features" who may be an illegitimate daughter of a commander who "advanced over the bodies of his men."

The Honolulu author’s suspenseful, sordid plot is nicely carried by sparse, clean prose.

"My Pearl Harbor Scrapbook 1941: A Nostalgic Collection of Memories," by Bess Taubman and Ernest Arroyo (Mapmania, $24.95)

With a foreword by the chief historian for the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument at Pearl Harbor, this beautifully reimagined scrapbook is filled with period photographs, letters, maps, a draft page of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s "Day of Infamy" speech, news clippings and postcards. A 1940 photo of the fleet’s light display celebrating the end of training is annotated with the president’s decision to keep it in Hawaii as "a deterrent to further Japa­nese advances in Asia."

Each ship has dedicated pages, and the internment of Japa­nese-Americans also is addressed. Military leaders on both sides of the conflict are profiled.

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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 books@staradvertiser.com.