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Hawaii

by James A. Michener

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Audio available 4.6

After the volcanic creation of the islands, Polynesian voyagers cross the Pacific and establish a society governed by genealogy, religion and adaptation to an isolated environment. Centuries later, missionaries from New England, Chinese labourers, Japanese immigrants and American businessmen arrive, each bringing new beliefs, ambitions and forms of power.

The fortunes of several families unfold through the Hawaiian kingdom, plantation expansion, cultural conflict, annexation, war and the emergence of a modern multiethnic society. The novel examines both the creative mixing of cultures and the dispossession that accompanies foreign influence, showing how Hawaii's identity is repeatedly contested by those who call the islands home.