While this book was aimed at the New Age audiance, it is an excellent introduction to classical Polynesian shamanism in Hawaii. There is alot of information on the lunar calendar, the various deities, holy places and objects, symbolism, the Menehune and other important aspects of Hawaiian spirituality. I strongly recommend that anyone with an interest in Hawaiian religion or Huna look at this book.

Mr. Cunningham clearly did his research on this book. This book contains a fairly comprehensive list of deities.

However; IMHO Mr. Cunningham allowed his Wiccan beliefs to shade his perceptions of the Huna faith. Both Huna and Wicca are Shamanic religions, but they are radicaly different.

Reading this book you will come to know the love that Scott Cunningham has for Hawaii: the land, its people, and its magick. Through his writing you not only learn about the spirituality and practices, but of the heart and beauty of Hawaii. Scott also speaks of his relations with the Goddess Pele, and his other experiences in the land. Another must for Cunningham fans, or those who wish wishing to explore the magick of the islands.

This book was a gift to me. I would never have purchased such a stodgy looking guide if I saw it in the bookstore. I actually got the larger Hawaii Handbook covering all of the Hawaiian islands. This book is the Big Island section of that book and includes comprehensive general Hawaiian island information as well. If someone is planning a multiple island trip they should go for the bigger book. Even if you are not going to Hawaii but want to know about Hawaii get this one. I devoured this book during the long flight to Hawaii and must say it was by far the very best travel guide that I have ever read and used to any destination. (And I have read them all.) It is so comprehensive and the writing is so well done that reading all of the information was almost like reading a page turner novel for me. I could not get enough. Once we were in Hawaii we found this guide totally indispensible. We traveled with a few other nice guides but, with all of their color photograpy and fancy maps, eventually this one was the only one we felt was worthwhile. (You can get all the maps you will ever need once you get there.) After touring extensively I read it with even more interest on the long flight home. We plan to return to tour just the Big Island and this is the one we will bring. It is not glitzy it is the real thing. Enjoy.

What I like about this one is its emphasis on local specialties and culture. This is a hallmark of Moon's guides in particular, and this one is no exception. The only thing missing is color photos. Buy it!

I used J.D.'s guidebook to all of Hawaii last trip in '92 and I'm glad that he's written one specifically for the big island. I've bought this one in preparation for this year's trip to the big island. If you want to know more than which of the big resorts are the best then this guidebook is great!

It is nice to have this book just to be in touch with the Master, in some way. But do now expect to learn much from it.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although it gave me much to think about, this is not the book for people wanting to learn about Reiki. The descriptions of some of the events of Takatas life will perhaps seem unbelievable, especially to the Western mind set. Someone with a bit more experience with Reiki who realizes its boundlessness will appreciate this book more fully.

I had never heard of Reiki until an advanced Amdahl computer science student of mine demonstrated it for me during a class lab in 1997. I was intrigued. The student told me he was a Level 2 Reiki Student and that one became a Level 1 Reiki Student after only one weekend class. So, I searched through the San Jose CA public library and found that Reiki Classes taught by Ms. Fran Brown were in a nearby town. I went and found that Ms. Brown was using "Living Reiki: Takata's Teachings" as the final teaching tool in her weekend class. This book makes the most sense if one has just recently attended (or will be attending) a Reiki class taught by a live instructor. According to the book, Reiki was "re-discovered" by a Christian seminary professor in Japan during the late 19th century. This professor (Dr. Usui Sensei) was asked by his students to be taught how Jesus did His "laying on of the hands" miracles. Dr. Ursui did not know, but promised to study the question. He did this for the next several years. Dr. Ursui taught many students over the years and chose Dr. Chujira Hayask to carry on the work. At Dr. Chujira's death, he chose Mrs. Hawayo H. Takata (1900-1980) to be his successor. Takata chose twenty-two people to succeed her in carrying on the tradition of manual healing. Mrs. Fran Brown was the seventh "Reiki Master" selected by Takata. So, this book is very close to the original teachers of Reiki and includes many personal recollections of Fran Brown she learned over the years. I highly recommend this book from a scientific and Christian perspective.

The author can write a good story, and uses his material well. Maybe too much personal aside in the book, but well worth the price for the for the book. Theresa may

If you're not sure whether the various H-3 disasters were accidents or the work of something else, this book is great. It talks about many different kinds of ghosts, Japanese, Hawaiian, Chinese, and other, and gives examples of when and where things have been attributed to them, like various stories of lava flows that have skipped destroying heiaus, sacred places, houses of people who were very devout, stuff like that. It's really interesting, especially in a place like Hawaii where many people believe in the old Hawaiian ghosts. It's surprising to people not from the islands, but true that the general public in Hawaii has a great deal of respect for Hawaiian spirits. Many businesses or organizations have all new facilities blessed by Hawaiian priests, and when misfortune strikes calling on the Hawaiian religious community is a not uncommon way of solving the problem. Scarily enough, often blessings really do end bad luck...

Since living in Hawaii, I have encountered many tales (such as these ) in this book. They are sometimes thought of as folklore, but many have claimed these stories are true. Determine for yourself if it is true.....or not.......hee hee hee!

Not much to rave about regarding this book. It tackles a very narrow subcollecting area of homefront collecting and consequently there are not a lot of items to show. The good news is its inexpensive and does show some really uncommon if not rare pieces albeit mostly in B&W. The insert paper priceguide is a joke and I'd scrap that. The collectors who contributed the photos were asked to price their own items hence the prices are inaccurate secondary to bias. If youre gonna buy it, buy it for pics of some pretty hard to find items and a trip down memory lane. Not much else to say otherwise.

This is a great new 88 page book loaded with photos of every type of Pearl Harbor memorabilia. It features more than 300 large, sharp, black and white and over 80 full color photos. After the brief introduction, each page is full of memories. Major catetories include newspapers, decals and patches, postcards, gum cards and matchbooks, post cards, pennants, banners, letters, postal covers, 3-D items, jewelry, movies, books, magazines, plaques and plates, and more. Items are described as appropriate. A separate price guide identifies each item by page number and description, along with the current value. WW II collectible fans will enjoy seeing the featured items and the memories that go along with them. Add it to your collection.

The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor compelled American into World War II and also resulted in a flood of items acknowledging this critical and pivotal event. Over the ensuing decades, a collector's market has sprung up based on the wealth of variety of materials from the period. These range from posters and placards to postcards and pins, from banners and stationary, to cigar wrappings and ladies underwear. Highly recommended for both nostalgic reminiscing and collector references, Remember Pearl Harbor Collectibles is an impressive, 88-page compendium surveying these special collectibles through a wealth of both black-and-white as well as full-color photographs.

Geared toward travelers who have a lot to spent on hotels, shopping, and entertainment. Not recommended for most people.

I took a gamble when purchasing this book before my wife and I took a vacation to Hawaii(Oahu,Maui)this summer. Boy, am I glad that I did. The Frommer's Hawaii 2002 went everywhere with us. It enhanced our trip greatly and we would have missed a lot without it. The maps were extremely helpful when navigating around to our desired destinations. We also appreciated the insite on the places to dine, hike, snorkle, kayak, etc. If you are in the market for a travel guide I highly recommend this guide.

Another terrific Frommer guide. Things are organized the way you plan a vacation. Looking for accommodations? They are all in one place for each island (grouped by location). Same with meals, activities, etc. I especially appreciate the honest descriptions and opinions of each property. If it's run down, the author says so. That's the type of information I need. I can get simple descriptive info (like other guidebooks) from the tourist bureau. I want to know what stuff is REALLY like and this book tells me.

We've used Frommer's books before, and enjoyed them, but found this book sadly lacking. It does help you pick out the highlights to budget your time, but too many other travel books exist that are simply better. We also found the maps sadly lacking when driving around the island, and at times were completely incorrect. Some information is out of date (hours of operation, prices), but no book is perfect in that regard.

We did greatly enjoy the Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed book we used on the same trip. Unfortunately, this publisher does not offer a book on Oahu.

I am planning on returning to Hawaii for the first time in almost 15 years next year, and wanted to refamiliarize myself with Oahu and see what had changed. Most travel books cover the entire state, so I figured a book geared just towards Oahu would eliminate alot of superfluous info for me and it did. But I was really surprised and disappointed at how little the book had to offer me. I think a first time traveler might get a lot of use from this book because it does provide a very nice overview of highlights for the first timer.
But, although I did find out some info that was of use to me, I was surprised by how much was glossed over if mentioned at all, especially since many shopping areas and beaches were mentioned, in detail in several sections of the book. With better organization the book could have contained a great deal more info in the same space. I was also surprised at how many restaurants, accomodations, and shopping places were missing (IE: There was absolutely NO mention of the International Marketplace, although it does appear on a Waikiki map) . I realize there isn't room for all of it, but I came away not trusting a book that seemed a little more biased than a guidebook should be.
I found the informational parts, especially about the language very interesting and well written.
Overall the book is average and has some very useful details and info, but if you really want to be well informed before you go, don't rely solely on this, you'll shortchange yourself if you do.

We used this book extensively when we were visiting Waikiki. This book is very easy to read and includes pretty much everything you need to know about the area. Accommodations and Dining sections could have been better but overall this is the book you need to take with you if you are going there. We also had "Hidden Oahu" with us but ended up using this book a lot more than "hidden Oahu". If you get this book you won't be dissapointed.

the author writes about how most camping in hawaii is beautiful pleasant and only at certain beaches has an unpleasant atmosphere

when in reality the truth about camping in Hawaii most campsites are loaded with homeless people who are bringing tons of junk to the campsites to live there after all it is easy to live for free in a place where it never gets cold

on Oahu camping is prohibited on wed and thurs to discourage this but its still a scary proposition to camp there.

Hawaii really needs to charge people on a per night use fee before camping in paradise will ever work.

overall this book is a SCAM on the unsuspecting camping tourist.

get a hotel package instead

...Hawaii, like everywhere else has a problem with litter and with homeless people. It also has some of the most amazing and beautiful places you will ever find. Meg may be trying to discourage tourism with this review. Many do. Read this book and visit Hawaii; but please do your part to keep it beautiful and leave it cleaner.

A previous review gives the impression that campgrounds in Hawaii are overrun with homeless people, and therefore are an unattractive place to camp. I consider this review false and misleading. Although there are some homeless people in Hawaii, as in many places, and they do sometimes camp on the state's beaches, they rarely choose to use state or city campgrounds. The reasons for this are that written permits are required at all such campgrounds, all stays are limited to a maximum of 5 days, and state parks charge a fee of $5 per day - something homeless folks cannot afford. There are a few campgrounds where demonstrators (not necessarily homeless) have staged "sit ins," protesting such things as loss of Hawaiian sovereignty, lack of affordable housing, and other social issues. However, if such a situation occurs, a prospective camper will be made aware of it when he applies for a permit, and can choose to go elsewhere

Hawaii has many beautiful campgrounds, both on the ocean and in forested areas. They provide a wonderful, hassle-free outdoor experience for thousands of people every year. It would be a shame to avoid using them based on one inaccurate report. And Camping Hawaii is the perfect reference to insure a great camping vacation anywhere in the islands.

Meg Munro >

Not much "hidden" stuff in here. Most of the places they call hidden, is also written in every other tourist guide. The only things this book has that the others don't in a more comprehensive guide to local restaurants. But as for hiking, beaches, etc. their suggestions won't be so hidden because every tourist with any guide will know about them.

The first 75 pages are the normal travel guide stock. In the succeeding pages the only thing hidden seem to be some boutique hotels, curiosity shops and small restaurants focusing on specific cuisine.

These books by Riegert are great; I have used them for 20 years. I would not dream of going to the islands without them. But you have to be adventurous, if you are not going to go past the NO TRESPASSING sign, you probably should not buy this book. (I only do it when Ray says it's OK). Stick to something more sedate. But if you will follow advice these books will show you da kine parts of Hawai'i you will not hear about anywhere else.

My tip: Buy this book months before your trip. Plan to stay at least one night in one of the funky hotels he finds in the backcountry. You won't regret it! Most of our favorite Hawaii moments have been due to this book.

Buy this book and go to the islands while they are still no ka oi!

This book was very helpful as we used it during our first stay on Kauai. We have two young children, and we found the Hiking Table very useful to easily locate hikes we could bring our kids on. We felt that we saw alot more of the island using these hikes then we would have with other guide books.

This is easily the best Kaua'i hiking book - buy it if you intend to do any hiking on Kaua'i. A small nit, the information on the Alaka'i Swamp Trail is out of date. This trail is now boardwalk right through to it's end at the Kilohana lookout (an amazing feat of engineering!). Far from being the endless slog through inhospitable "telephone pole bogs", this hike is now a snap, rewarded by an awesome view of the whole NE quadrant of the island from the edge of the Wainiha Pali (weather permitting!).

This is the best book I found for hiking in Kauai - it's also the one all the stores over there carry. Definitely also ask the locals about the condition of trails when you get there - they usually have good recommendations.