by Sarah Vowell
First published 2011
Sarah Vowell examines 1898 as a pivotal moment when America transformed into an imperial power by seizing Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba, and the Philippines. She focuses on Hawaii's transformation from kingdom to American territory. Her investigation begins with New England missionaries arriving in 1820 to convert native Hawaiians and follows their descendants who orchestrated an 1893 coup against the Hawaiian queen. Vowell chronicles the conflicts between Bible-carrying missionaries and cannon-firing whalers, the struggles of Hawaiian royalty torn between Christianity and traditional customs, and the sugar plantation owners who reshaped the islands. She connects this history to contemporary America through figures like Theodore Roosevelt and Queen Liliuokalani, whose song "Aloha Oe" later played at Barack Obama's presidential inauguration. Through sharp observations and detailed reporting, Vowell reveals how Hawaii's colonization exemplifies America's imperial ambitions and contradictions.
Genres: history, 20th-century, american, non-fiction, 21st-century, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-fiction, political-drama
Setting: Cuba, Guam, Hawaii, Philippines, Puerto Rico
Period: 1820s, 1893, 1898, 20th-Century
238 pages · Hardcover · Riverhead Books