The Boxcar children solved many a mystery but can they save their cousins' pineapple farm from becoming bankrupt. Does this also have something to do with the Black Pearl that everybody is afraid to mention?

I have not read many Boxcar Children books but I found this one to be very interesting. The mystery was fairly well thought out and it had a satisfying ending. The characters aren't too complex, but what can you expect from a kids' book. I would recommend it to young readers that enjoy a good mystery.

This anthology of five novels written between 1925 and 1932 break cleanly into two groups. The first three books (House without a Key, Chinese Parrot, and Behind that Curtain) are clever, entertaining and and quite enjoyable. That last two are contrived with the proverbial red herrings dragged everywhere to confuse the issue but not to add to the enjoyment. An interesting footnote to 'House without a Key' is its characters' comments that the beauty of Hawaii is being destroyed by the commercialism and tourists. This, in 1925.

My advice is read the first three books and stop at that point. You'll have gotten your money's worth and you'll avoid the bitter aftertaste the latter two books impart.

Between 1925 and 1932, Earl Derr Biggers wrote six novels about Charley Chan, a fictional Chinese detective, who was to become a pop culture icon through his representation in Hollywood movies. It is said that the author based his character on a genuine Chinese detective in Honolulu named Chang Apana that he read about while vacationing in Honolulu. In a time when "white priviledge" was assumed, Detective Chan overcomes racial barriers as he pursues white murderers in a white society. The only other Chinese in evidence in these stories are servants and laborers. The novels take place in the Honolulu and California of post World War I America and the descriptions of these long-gone settings are wonderfully rich and rewarding. Each story not only tells how a puzzling murder is solved, but also has a sub-plot of young people finding true love. Romance, historic settings, race relations, and a murder mystery are all the earmarks of a Charley Chan novel. They are a joy to read and much better than the movies of the 1930s and 1940s. I am disappointed that the book has only five of the six Charley Chan novels. Included in this volume are: The House Without a Key (1925); The Chinese Parrot (1926); Behind That Curtain (1928); The Black Camel (1929); and, Keeper of the Keys (1932). The one novel left out is: Charlie Chan Carries On (1930). I hope that someday we will be able to buy all six in one volume with an introductory essay that gives some background on the author and discusses the influence of these novels.

An expansion upon the previously published material of Infinite Way. Full of insight and practical pointers on the Way.

This collection of Joel's final talks in Hawaii is beautifully presented. Joel's talks have been published in their original, unedited form, and students of The Infinite Way® will respond to the consciousness immediately. Shortly after delivering this part of the message, Joel began his last trip to Europe. These talks were never recorded. Until recently, they were only available from student to student. It is important reading for any serious student of this message.

This soft-cover book provides some of the most vivid color pictures of marine invertebrates that I have seen to date. However, do not expect involved explanations about each species listed. Scientific names are given for each species, but common names are not always included. Very little information given concerning how each species relates in the aquarium environment.

I only have positive thoughts about this great reference. It is simply the best book ever written on the invertebrates of the Indian Ocean and especially the Indonesian area. It is like an oversized version of Debelius` field guides,but this one truly rocks!It does not only include 1105 interesting invertebrate species,but also some great information about them. Some species are such new to science that they`ve not even been described. For example,there are 10 undescribed little octopi. If any animal are more strikingly colourfull than reef fishes,these are the ones. I love all animals but I especially like the chapters about flatworms,crustaceans,and molluscs,of which many species are new to me. I already have a great knowledge of animals for beeing such young,and this book gives me much more. When I take a trip to Thailand for the next winter,I`ll bring this book and see how many invertebrates I`ll recognize from it. Over all,this is a great book and would recommend it to any serious scientist,aquarium hobbyist,invertebrate lover,or the one that just likes strong colours. The price is high,but believe me,it`s definitly worth it!

Almost everything you wanted to know about the Duke. The father of surfing, Olympian, and the definition of aloha spirit, this book tells the whole story. Only criticism is there are not enough photos of this incredible man.

This should be required reading for young surfers.

Mr Brennan writes this story of his friend Duke Kahanamoku with care and love. It is wonderful that the time was taken to document this life that lives on in Spirit thirtyone years after his passing. After readiing the story of Duke's life you will see how special he was . The book is well written and very factual. Bravo

I found this book to be indespensible in identifying where to go and how to get there. A section on each of the major islands, and then regions on a per island basis makes it easy to use. Pratt identifies which birds you can expect to see in each of the birding spots identified. Although color plates of many of the species are included, this is not a species classification guide per-se. You'll need a separate guide for that. But you can't see them if you don't know where to go or how to get there, and that's where this book shines. I shutter to think of the time we would have wasted without it.

Pratt takes the reader island by island, site by site, through all the best spots to find birds in the islands. Illustrated with excellent color photographs, the guide tells you what to expect in terms of species to see, directions on getting there, and possible hazards (mud, rough roads, irritable hunters, etc.). Following the site descriptions, Pratt adds a section on each species to be found in the islands, listing the places it is most likely to be found. The emphasis is on clear information, but Pratt's lucid interesting writing style makes the book a pleasure to read as well. I have used it on Kaua'i and Hawai'i and would not think of birding the other islands without it. Indispensible!

SUMMARY: facts and interpretation of the effects of WW2 in Hawaii

REVIEW: The authors interviewed many people, including my father, Anthony Capanna, as they wrote this account of WW2 in Hawaii. Although I think their account is quite accurate (and was grateful they depicted my father as the good/honest/moral person he is), there are parts of the book that are quite graphic as pertaining to the sleazier side of what went on after Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Factual, yes; worth reading, if you need it as a research tool; a bit jolting and base...yes. I don't recommend it for young people.

This book is the best ever done on the WWII scene in the Islands. The research is exhaustive, and the stories extremely well-told. I am a historian and author in Hawai'i--concentrating on the 19th century but well aware of the 20th--and the authors have done a great job of not only telling the stories but coming to the correct conclusions. The two chapters on Black soldiers and the sex trade are especially good.

The title refers to the idea that Hawai'i, with very different foods, traditions and most of its population Oriental and Polynesian, was the first strange place that most young servicemen ever encountered. On their way to fight Japanese, they are stationed on an island with more than a third of the population of Japanese ancestory.

If you want an insight as to the impact of suddenly tripling the population of an island, primarily with young fighting men, this is the book. It's a GREAT read, and it all happened!

My son and I enjoy flap books and we had fun discovering what was hidden on each page. A great book for young children. We also enjoyed Joy Au's other flap book "Going On a Bug Hunt in Hawaii Nei" and her book "What If Elephants Wore Hula Skirts" is cute and funny.

We have all four of this author's children's books and my kids love them all. "Going on a Bug Hunt in Hawai'i nei" is a flap-up book about finding little crawling creatures in Hawai'i. "What if Elephants Wore Hula Skirts" is a whimsical view of the animals at the Honolulu Zoo. And "Hawai'i Sings" is an introduction to hula and the instruments used in the hula. "Going to the Tide Pools in Hawai'i nei" is a great way to introduce children to the beautiful sea. We love them all!

Ira Rohter has looked at Hawaii's economy with new eyes, and has seen that tourism is not as good as once thought. His vision of a kinder, more local, less-homogenized village-based tourist AND RESIDENCE experience has a wonderfully believable and welcoming quality to it. Why not?

A Green Hawaii: Sourcebook for Development Alternatives By Ken Boche Ka'u Landing. Feb., 1993 This book may be one of the most important books ever published in the State of Hawaii. I say this as one who appreciates good books, who values the ways in which books can help preserve Hawaii's unique cultural and biological heritage, and who sees books as, among other things, essential tools for communication. It is in this last use of books that A Green Hawaii stands out as unique. Very few books present a vision of Hawaii's future. About the only "books" that address the future are the "planning" documents published either by our governmental "planning" bodies or by "planning" firms hired by those bodies or by some real estate developer. All those documents are based on some very questionable assumptions, and most of them are written to plan for unsustainable "growth" and progress . A Green Hawaii critically questions those assumptions, shows how those assumptions do not work in the best interests of our citizens, and presents a vision of our future that is economically sustainable, socially equitable, politically democratic and environmentally sound. This book includes over 60 pages of footnotes, so that readers who want more information about the ideas presented can pursue it with little difficulty. The ideas are presented as an historical review of the previous half century as it might be written in the year 2010. In this way, not only is the sustainable vision of the future presented, but so is the path we might follow if we want to arrive there in the next 20 years. It effectively tells us how to get from here to there. Where there is very little mention of permaculture or its design methodology, it is as if our whole society has been transformed into a thriving, positive culture based on permaculture principles. We see in Hawaii's future an economy based on renewable energy and on diversified enterprises which are locally-owned and which serve local needs first. Just as a permaculture farm will integrate the production of many products, a green Hawaii will integrate work with leisure; social with political; rural with urban; aquaculture, agriculture and forestry with processing and marketing tourism with education about and appreciation of our unique heritage. Agriculture will be building soil, not eroding and poisoning it forestry will plant forests for the future, not clear-cut them; the fishing and aquaculture industries will increase their stocks, not deplete them; education will tap people's creativity, not stifle it; transportation will work for the people, not against them. In permaculture terms, we will invest in our procreative assets, those that increase in value, and in our generative assets, our essential tools. And we will stop investing in enterprises which decrease our long-term wealth. Rohter, the author, is also a co-founder of the Hawaii Green Party and a professor of political science at UH-Manoa. So it's not surprising to find a clear vision of how our society can be made more democratic and how communities can gain more control over their own future. As a whole, the book has few mistakes, and those 1 found seem minor (e.g., methane is not a suitable fuel for transportation end-uses; methane has too few BTUs.) The one thing I would like to have seen would be a clearer legislative program for the state legislature and the counties to adopt that would facilitate the establishment of a green Hawaii. The range of options which this book offers is staggering. And yet it is only a beginning, not really comprehensive at all. Again, it's like permaculture: no design is ever complete. There's always a way to make a site more productive. The only thing that limits the available options is the quality and creativity of the thought applied to it. This book is excellent in this regard. What we must do is take this fine beginning, expand it with our own creativity, and implement it into our own lives. If we all do so, our quality of life will improve and the future, for ourselves and for coming generations, will become more healthy and prosperous. END

This book presents the people and state of Hawaii in color photographs. A color name is given, then the photos. Some brief facts about Hawaii explaining the photots help child and parent interact.

Both my sons loved this book, and they had never been to Hawaii. We started reading it to them when they were around 12 months old. They loved the photographs and loved the concept of color. Lots to look at in each picture and to talk about with your children.It doesn't get boring either, even after the 40th time - after all this is Hawaii!