Unfamiliar Fishes

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell, 238 pages

In Unfamiliar Fishes, Vowell turns her trademark wry humor toward the colonization of Hawaii during the 19th Century. Starting with the arrival of Captain Cook in 1778 and continuing through the 1898 annexation of Hawaii by the United States, this book offers a wonderful introduction to traditional Hawaiian culture and the ways in which Anglo-Saxon culture affected what were once known as the Sandwich Islands. (Pluses: written language, ability for women to eat bananas. Minuses: well... way too many to count.) For fans of Vowell's and history, this is a must-read.