Michener and Me

Abstract

Abstract:Published within months of Hawaiian statehood in 1959, James Michener’s Hawaii: A Novel quickly became an international bestseller. The book portrayed Hawaiian history as an evolutionary tale of progress, from prehistoric religious oppression to the modern era when a multiracial cast of “Golden Men” dominated island life. This essay traces the book’s (and its author’s) popularity through a dual narrative of Michener’s career and the author’s encounters with the book. While praised initially, Hawaii was soon criticized by most of the groups it depicted: Native Hawaiians, descendants of missionaries, Republican politicians, and members of the Asian—particularly Japanese—immigrant community. At the same time, the essay’s author traveled his own path as a historian exploring the Indigenous history of the United States and reexamining his youthful enthusiasm for Michener’s book. Their diverging paths crossed unexpectedly in 1979.