Book Blog - Know me by the books I've recently read!

One of the best. Details of the overthrow not mentioned or explained as clearly in other books. Wish I could remember every word. 

c2012 

A must read for everyone in Hawai'i politics and banking. Not an easy read. "Monetism," a new viable monetery system we can implement here in Hawai'i.

 c2021

Wow! What an inspirational story. Sorry about the separation and loss of your brother at too early an age. 

c2021

 Great writing and fun to read from early 1900 perspective about land, water, sugar and horses on Maui. Lots of truth. Cover drawing by Armine.   Armine was born in Hawai'i in 04/01/1892, died in Fresno 12/02/1943. Another book by Armine I can't find that includes a horrific forest fire on the Big Island.  One of my concerns with increasing winds drying the trees and foliage. We need more fire fighting equipment!! 

c1927

Pwerful serious history including Opukaha'ia  (Hopu) story of escaping the murdering by  priests of his entire family. In short it was Opukaha'ia escaping to America and pressuring the American Christian community to evangelize the islands and end the horrors of endless warfare and kapu and it's barbaric brutality that became instrumental in the missionaries coming here. c2014  

Fascinating story telling of cultures tragically colliding, beginning with a shark rescuing a lost overboard child along with, "The Night Marchers." 

c2020 

Insightful - "The Urgency of Sustainable Development and Mindful Activism - Reflections and Recommendations". Read this and know more about my vission for Hawai'i.

We need "Mindful Activism" in order to make rapid adjustments to the imploding world around us. First step is to place ideas in your mind, followed by thinking, meditating and praying.

 c2017

A powerfully inspiring story. I tracked down her phone number after reading but she was not not well and because of coved, her husband said no to most all who wanted to visit her.  Haunani is a falling in-love story for me.... in a healthy way. 

c 1993,1999

A 52 page pamphlet but very straightforward, helpful as an excellent reference. Purchased at Waimea Falls, a favorite place for me and Boo Boo. 

c2018

A series of lectures delivered at  The Kamehameha Schools in 1930 by 15 author /  presenters of their personal Hawai'i experiences. Excellent historical perspecitves of Hawaiian life at that time. 

c1999

Published 1920 another great historical novel making you feel like you are back in time. Romance, suspence, action filled.

c1929,1955

I read this book after seeing the movie and  have watched the movie 3 more times since then. You get the picture. 

c2007

 Intense historical novel of a white sailor going overboard, floating on a pallet, surving to Hawai'i. Rescued and falls in love with a King Kamahemahe future bride. Captured, bones broken, burned alive. An older women rescues the child from the dead mother's side and steals her away to Oahu. Not easy times. Is their a country without an ugly past? c2012

How all the islands began from deep inside the earth and then moved northwest on a tectonic plate. Molten lava breaks through the ocean floor almost 3 miles below the surface and then over millions of years rises up and moving slowly northwest, forming alost 4000 miles of the Emperor- Hawaiian Seamount.

c2014 

Great picture of how all the islands began from deep inside the earth and then moved northwest on a tectonic plate.  The center of the earth is amiming and reaching into the heavens, assisting in our search for God.  

My maternal grandmother's maiden name was Helen Victoria Llyon.... It's been said by relatives that I am related to both Harold and Queen Victoria.  Harold, a botonist, born 10/14/1879 came to Hawai'i in 1907 to help with a sugar blight and rose quickly in the community and at the University of Hawai'i. He's responisble for bringing more than 2000 plants and trees to Hawai'i including the banyon Tree.

 c1980

Retold by Caroline Curtis. Illustrated by Robin Burningham.

"Long ago the sky rested on the earth."

"Long ago birds were invisible."

"Hina, the mother of Maui, lived in a cave.."

You get the idea. Great stories!

c1960

"Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate saga. A story of unbridled ambition, infectious greed and high drama." I do not have a complete opinion at this time except to say managing this amount of money with minimal  oversight and accountability can easily lead to misuse and corruption, like children running loose in a candy store, except with not so nice attitude.  

 c2006 

Beautiful story of Hawaiian Shaman and elder Hale Makua and the deep friendship relationship with anthropogist author Hank Wasselman. Hale Makua is featured on my Home the Home Screen, bottom row 2 down from Geroge Harrison, wearing sun glasses. Hold your hands together open on top forming a bowl and look deeply into it long enough to see your light of truth.  Read this 8 years ago but important HI story. 

c2011

Matsu grew up near Hale'iwa working in sugare fields grwoing up. Became an attorney, city councile supervisor,and important trustee of the Bishop Estate which has a 20 Billion value and the largest private estate in the world. Matsu was one of the good guys and made many big deals (money) for the Bishop Estate However, concerns have be raised about the status of the estate because of the all the money making. Interesting person and well told story.  

c1998

Beatuitfuyl truth filled historical love story novel of Maile, the second daughter of a rouyal Chief inadverntantly saving the life and eventually falling in love with a man with Captain Cook who shot and killed her fianc'e.  c 2019. 

A historical Hawai'i classic. Read in 1992 and need to read again. 

c1998

A good overview of the struggled of Hawai'i Hippie surfing and pakalolo life style. This is the author's,

growing up in Hawai'i story of adventures, joys and disappointments. 

c2018

"The history of our colonization becomes a twice-told tale, first of discovery and settlemnt by European and American businessmen and missionaries, then of plantation Japanese, Chinese, and eventually Filipino rise to domincance in the islands.... As a people, Hawaiian's remain a politically subordinated group suffering all the legacies of conquest; landlessness, disastrous health, diaspora, institutionalization in the military prisons, poor educational attinment, and confinment to the serive sector of employment" Haunani-Kay Trask.

 c2008

I first read in 1983 and have read three  times since. Last read 2019.  It's the spiritual journey of Mukunda Lal Ghosh, later to become Yogananda, and still later, Paramansa Yogananda. Autobiography of a Yogi was written by Yogananda, mostly at his Encinitas ashram in Southern California and was Published in 1946.

Ashram:  A place of retirement from worldly life.

Swami: He who has achieved mastery of himself.

Steve Jobs read Autobiography once a year for most of his adult life and had a copy placed on every chair at his funreral. 

I became a disciple in the spring of 2018 while visting Ananda Village in Nevada City California. 

Yogananda established a "Church of all Religons in Hollywood, Californis. He had two podiums built.  One on the left from the audiance for Yogananda ministers and one on the right for visiting ministers from other religons. The one on the right was never used but still remains as a concept for unity with all other religious practices. 

"Swamies," at the base of Yogananda's ashram retreat center in Encinitas, Califonrnia is a world class surfing destination.  

Don Walters was living a life of dissappointing efforts searching for truth, when at 22 years of age, after dropping his mother off at the NY Harbor to travel by ship to meet-up with  her gelologist husband in Egypt, Don happened upon a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi in a near by New York City book store.  After reading in the inside cover, "Dedicated to the Memory or Luther Burbank, An American Saint." He thought "rubbish," impossible for thier to be an American Saint. He put the book back on the shelf and bought another. A few days later walking in the vicinity of the book store he was thinking again how rediculous the idea of an American saint, when without paying attenetion, he found himslef in front of the same book store.  He went inside and ended up buying a copy. Went home and read the entire book in a few days and as he says, "I caught the next bus to California." "And when I met Yogananda, to my surprise, the words that came out of me were, "I want to be your disciple."  A beutiful story and book very much worth reading before or after reading Autobiogaphy of a Yogi.  Swami Kriyananda died in 2013. 

No human being is perfect and it is through our failures that we tend to seek forgiveness. I have personally been upset by both Yoganandaji and Swamiji, and left them each for several months at a time until from somewhere that seemed to be from outside myself, I was able to forgive them both.  As Jesus once said, "Let him without sin caste the first stone."

A few missing, like the Bowl of Light. I have not posted all of waht I've read in the past 2 years, like Gateway State by Miller - Davenport, one of the first more academic Hawaii'i  reality books I read after moving here in November of 2016. I first came here in 1990 to stay at the Tai-Hsuan Temple in Aina Hina where by a perchance meeting with Dr. Lily Siou (now deseased) she taught me the chi-kung sitting meditation forms along with chi-kung healing practices, in 5 days, by me going into her Pucs Alley acupuncture clinic everyda  from 10-4. It was when driving around the iland after the last day that I saw a line of school children walking a dirt trial along a roadway, most with sliippers, a few barefoot, that I fell in love with Hawai'i. 

Mahalo, Mac Lewman

A few missing Hawai'i historical novels, like Picture Brides, a story of a S. Korean women escaping to paradise only to married to a cruel alcoholic sugar cane worker. 

Molikai  and return to Molikai. Story of a youg girl being captured and sent to the Kalaupapa. She had a baby that was immediately taken from her but she did  survive and endedd up visiting her adult daughter and two children in central California.