50 Essential Hawai‘i Books You Should Read in Your Lifetime

1.
Shark Dialogues
Shark Dialogues 4.10 avg rating — 2,951 ratings
2.
The Kumulipo: A Hawaiian Creation Chant
The Kumulipo: A Hawaiian Creation Chant 4.28 avg rating — 102 ratings
2.
Lost Kingdom: Hawaii's Last Queen, the Sugar Kings and America's First Imperial Adventure
Lost Kingdom: Hawaii's Last Queen, the Sugar Kings and America's First Imperial Adventure 3.72 avg rating — 1,260 ratings
4.
Hawaiian Mythology
Hawaiian Mythology 3.82 avg rating — 235 ratings
5.
Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii
Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii 3.58 avg rating — 738 ratings
6.
Six Months in Sandwich Isles
Six Months in Sandwich Isles 3.90 avg rating — 324 ratings
7.
Fornander's Ancient History of the Hawaiian People to the Times of Kamehameha I
Fornander's Ancient History of the Hawaiian People to the Times of Kamehameha I really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 35 ratings
8.
New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary
New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary 4.31 avg rating — 36 ratings
9.
Legends & Myths of Hawaii
Legends & Myths of Hawaii 3.93 avg rating — 242 ratings
10.
Hawaiian antiquities
Hawaiian antiquities 3.79 avg rating — 48 ratings
11.
Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory
Kalaupapa: A Collective Memory 4.22 avg rating — 23 ratings
12.
Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii
Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii 4.37 avg rating — 38 ratings
13.
Olelo No'Eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings
Olelo No'Eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings 4.77 avg rating — 101 ratings
14.
Hawaii's Story
Hawaii's Story 3.92 avg rating — 1,953 ratings
15.
And the View from the Shore: Literary Traditions of Hawai'i (Samuel and Althea Stroum Books)
And the View from the Shore: Literary Traditions of Hawai'i (Samuel and Althea Stroum Books) 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings
16.
Honor Killing: Race, Rape, and Clarence Darrow's Spectacular Last Case
Honor Killing: Race, Rape, and Clarence Darrow's Spectacular Last Case 4.24 avg rating — 411 ratings
17.
Land and Power in Hawaii: The Democratic Years
Land and Power in Hawaii: The Democratic Years 3.86 avg rating — 36 ratings
18.
From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai'i
From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawai'i 4.47 avg rating — 747 ratings
19.
Ho i Ho i Hou: A Tribute to George Helm & Kimo Mitchell
Ho i Ho i Hou: A Tribute to George Helm & Kimo Mitchell 4.11 avg rating — 9 ratings
20.
Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement & Political Manipulation at America’s Largest Charitable Trust (Latitude 20 Books (Paperback))
Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement & Political Manipulation at America’s Largest Charitable Trust (Latitude 20 Books (Paperback)) 4.21 avg rating — 373 ratings
21.
Fragments of Hawaiian History
Fragments of Hawaiian History 4.60 avg rating — 10 ratings
22.
On Being Hawaiian
On Being Hawaiian 3.82 avg rating — 11 ratings
23.
The Value of Hawai‘i: Knowing the Past, Shaping the Future (Biography Monographs)
The Value of Hawai‘i: Knowing the Past, Shaping the Future (Biography Monographs) 3.74 avg rating — 47 ratings
24.
Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands
Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands 3.81 avg rating — 796 ratings
25.
Hawai'i One Summer
Hawai'i One Summer 3.92 avg rating — 198 ratings
26.
Pidgin to da Max
Pidgin to da Max 4.35 avg rating — 117 ratings
27.
Pass On, No Pass Back!
Pass On, No Pass Back! 3.50 avg rating — 12 ratings
28.
Folks You Meet in Longs and Other Stories
Folks You Meet in Longs and Other Stories 3.88 avg rating — 124 ratings
29.
Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku
Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku 4.05 avg rating — 260 ratings
30.
Growing Up Local: An Anthology of Poetry and Prose from Hawai’i
Growing Up Local: An Anthology of Poetry and Prose from Hawai’i 4.44 avg rating — 50 ratings
31.
Hawaiian Son: The Life and Music of Eddie Kamae
Hawaiian Son: The Life and Music of Eddie Kamae 4.43 avg rating — 23 ratings
32.
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance 3.94 avg rating — 229,609 ratings
33.
Big Happiness: The Life and Death of a Modern Hawaiian Warrior
Big Happiness: The Life and Death of a Modern Hawaiian Warrior 4.42 avg rating — 60 ratings
34.
Hawaii
Hawaii 4.22 avg rating — 80,875 ratings
35.
Moloka'i (Moloka'i, #1)
Moloka'i (Moloka'i, #1) 4.20 avg rating — 138,225 ratings
36.
All I Asking for Is My Body
All I Asking for Is My Body 3.83 avg rating — 719 ratings
37.
Blu's Hanging
Blu's Hanging 3.89 avg rating — 1,056 ratings
38.
Waimea Summer
Waimea Summer 3.73 avg rating — 91 ratings
39.
The Return of Lono: A Novel of Captain Cook's Last Voyage
The Return of Lono: A Novel of Captain Cook's Last Voyage really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 26 ratings
40.
Red Wind
Red Wind 4.33 avg rating — 15 ratings
41.
Molokai
Molokai 4.30 avg rating — 6,254 ratings
42.
Hawaiʻi
Hawaiʻi 4.04 avg rating — 94 ratings
43.
The Tattoo
The Tattoo 3.98 avg rating — 536 ratings
44.
Rolling the R's
Rolling the R's 3.79 avg rating — 751 ratings
45.
In the Time Before Light
In the Time Before Light 4.50 avg rating — 20 ratings
46.
The Descendants
The Descendants 3.84 avg rating — 23,047 ratings
47.
da word
da word 3.89 avg rating — 27 ratings
48.
The Folding Cliffs: A Narrative
The Folding Cliffs: A Narrative 4.19 avg rating — 126 ratings
49.
Expounding the Doubtful Points
Expounding the Doubtful Points 3.87 avg rating — 15 ratings
50.
Picture Bride (Yale Series of Younger Poets)
Picture Bride (Yale Series of Younger Poets) 3.92 avg rating — 120 ratings
51.
Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre
Saturday Night at the Pahala Theatre 3.99 avg rating — 199 ratings