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Pulitzer Prize–winning author James A. Michener brings Hawaii's epic history vividly to life in a classic saga that has captivated readers since its initial publication in 1959.
As the volcanic Hawaiian Islands sprout from the ocean floor, the land remains untouched for centuries—until, little more than a thousand years ago, Polynesian seafarers make the perilous journey across the Pacific, flourishing in this tropical paradise according to their ancient traditions. Then, in the early nineteenth century, American missionaries arrive, bringing with them a new creed and a new way of life. Based on exhaustive research and told in Michener's immersive prose, Hawaii is the story of disparate peoples struggling to keep their identity, live in harmony, and, ultimately, join together.
"Wonderful ... [a] mammoth epic of the islands." —The Baltimore Sun
"One novel you must not miss! A tremendous work from every point of view—thrilling, exciting, lusty, vivid, stupendous." —Chicago Tribune
"Memorable ... a superb biography of a people." —Houston Chronicle
This information about Hawaii was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
James A. Michener was one of the world's most popular writers, the author of more than forty books of fiction and nonfiction, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning Tales of the South Pacific, the bestselling novels The Source, Hawaii, Alaska, Chesapeake, Centennial, Texas, Caribbean, and Caravans, and the memoir The World Is My Home. Michener served on the advisory council to NASA and the International Broadcast Board, which oversees the Voice of America. Among dozens of awards and honors, he received America's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1977, and an award from the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 1983 for his commitment to art in America. Michener died in 1997 at the age of ninety.
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