Of all the countries the United States invaded or colonized in 1898, Sarah Vowell considers the story of the Americanization of Hawaii to be the most intriguing. From the arrival of the New England missionaries in 1820, who came to Christianize the local heathens, to the coup d'état led by the missionaries' sons in 1893, overthrowing the Hawaiian queen, the events leading up to American annexation feature a cast of beguiling, if often appalling or tragic, characters.

I'm sending this to ReallyBookish for the wishlist tag game!

Received safely. Thank you so much!

Hmm... I unfortunately found this one to be a bit of a slog. I certainly didn't enjoy it as much as Vowell's Take the Cannoli. There were no chapters in this book and it seemed to lack an overarching structure, although it roughly followed the chronology of Hawaii from the arrival of missionaries from New England through to its statehood. I had to really concentrate while reading as I was unfamiliar with much of the history being discussed and I found the Hawaiian names hard to keep straight as they were all very similar, with most of them seeming to begin with either "K" or "L"!

This kind of read like a first draft to me and I also missed Vowell's trademark humor and wit, which didn't seem as present in this book. She relied heavily on quotations and the book, although brief, managed to seem rather repetitive. Perhaps she didn't actually have quite enough material and felt the need to stretch things out a bit.

Anyhow, I'll certainly continue to read her. I'd like to read all of her books at some point.

Reserving for the Nonfiction VBB.

Description from Amazon:

"Of all the countries the United States invaded or colonized in 1898, Sarah Vowell considers the story of the Americanization of Hawaii to be the most intriguing. From the arrival of the New England missionaries in 1820, who came to Christianize the local heathens, to the coup d'état led by the missionaries' sons in 1893, overthrowing the Hawaiian queen, the events leading up to American annexation feature a cast of beguiling, if often appalling or tragic, characters. Whalers who fire cannons at the Bible-thumpers denying them their god-given right to whores; an incestuous princess pulled between her new god and her brother-husband; sugar barons, con men, Theodore Roosevelt, and the last Hawaiian queen, a songwriter whose sentimental ode 'Aloha 'Oe' serenaded the first Hawaiian-born president of the United States during his 2009 inaugural parade.

With her trademark wry insights and reporting, Vowell sets out to discover the odd, emblematic, and exceptional history of the fiftieth state. In examining the place where Manifest Destiny got a sunburn, she finds America again, warts and all."

This is headed out as a selection from the Nonfiction VBB. Enjoy!

Thank you for sharing this book!