I'm very dissapointed in this book. I'm an experienced West Coast diver who has dove in Hawaii several times. I bought the book hoping to find detailed information on some great sites. What I got instead was a general overview without any real substance. Yes, there are some good facts throughout the text that are helpful, weather, climate conditions, etc., but very little on where and how to dive the individual sites. The sites for each island listed are only a few, and in my experience aren't the best ones. Specific details are left up to the diver or snorkeler to figure out. Something difficult for a first timer to the islands. The maps were too few, too basic, too broad, and lacked sufficient detail to really have this book be considered a "guide book." I would suggest anyone travelling over to Hawaii to pick up a copy of "The O`ahu Snorkelers and Shore Divers Guide" by Francisco B. de Carvalho. His book has more detailed info than any other book on the market and will definitely give you what you need to know on selecting and diving or snorkeling a site...all 26 for just the island of O`ahu.

I am usually not a Lonely Planet guide fan - I like more pictures. So this book was a pleasant surprise from them. Lots of vivid pictures. Fantastic advice about what types of things NOT to touch too!! Kept us out of trouble more than once. They listed several of the sites that the local dive shops mentioned as well. You have to know they are good that way! Nice to have a guide for which are shore access and which require a boat trip too. We went to every single shoreline access site listed for the Big Island and they were correct with their descriptions. Our trip wouldn't have been half as wonderful without this book! Thank you Astrid and Casey!

I used this book a lot on my recent trip to Maui and thought it was great. It's not like the general Lonely Planet guidebooks, but it's not trying to be - it's got lots more photos (awesome!) and and the focus really is on the dive site descriptions. There's plenty of snorkeling information, including a "Top 10 snorkeling sites". And did I mention the photos?

I read the previous review by Marty Roth and have to agree totally. I don't think the author has tried using his directions in Hawaii.

I have been all over the island hiking. The book was helpful in so much as mentioning where to hike but the directions were not much help at all.

A practical guide to the most scenic walks on the major Hawaiian islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Hawaii, Kauai and Oahu. Walks range from easy strolls of a few hours to multi-day excursions where blankets and sleeping backs are de rigeur. Waikiki, the Koolaus, Honolulu, Lahaina, the Seven Pools of Kipahulu, Kaanapali, Iao Valley State Park, Waimea Canyon, Kalalau Valley, the Na Pali Cliffs, Kalaupapa, Kaiholena Gulch, Waipop Valley, and Kilauea all have designated trails covered here. Descriptive text gives you a feel for the area, whether its downtown Honolulu or the lush green slopes of Iao Needle on Kauai. Each hike is graded for its difficulty from "family" to "strenuous," although most are suitable for the entire family. A thoughtful interior design allows you to see the trail's rating, mileage and any permit requirements at a glance. Pocket-sized, this handy guide will fit easily into your money belt or backpack. Maps of almost every trail. 192 pages.

"This one's not for either the ultra-lazy pool potatoes or [those who] need step-by-step direction many pro-hiker guides provide. But if you'd like folksy-friendly insider tips to accessible Hawaiian adventures for the whole family, here's your guide." New York Daily News

Since nude sunbathing is illegal in Hawaii, this book is a work of fiction.

nudism in hawaii may not be so called "legal", but a lot of people do and just find there own private or group area of like minded people and ignore the rest. tourists who happen upon one of these areas usually just walk on by and will let you be, or they sometimes will ask questions respectfully and leave(which my wife and female friend found out to be true on our last visit to the kona coast)

Another popular regional guide to nude beaches recommended by Dr. Leisure is Dave Patricks' California's Nude Beaches. A hundred and fifty pages of good information and some very fine black and white photography of nude beach inhabitants. Dave even has a section called Naturist Photography in the '90s. It is obvious from the photographs that Dave knows what he is talking about. Highly recommended by the number one source of information on nude recreation on the net. DrLeisure.com.

This book is out of date. A lot of the places we tried to go to were no longer there.

This book had some wonderful information about how to get cheap food in Hawaii. The only thing is that there is no such thing as "cheap food" in Waikiki. You have to drive out of Waikiki if you wanted cheap food. (Better yet, get a suite with a kitchen and cook your own dinner.) Breakfast is the cheapest meal in Waikiki.

Great reviews and suggestions for cheap and good food in Hawaii. Detailed descriptions include address, telephone, hours, payment options, reservation policies, and alcohol availability. Organized by location and cuisine to make things very accessible. Even though the edition is a few years old, the descriptions are accurate and informative. The only thing missing is the newer eateries that are vying to be just as cheap and good as the eateries listed here. A real good choice if you are staying more than a week in a hotel room subsisting on restaurant food.

this book is inbetween action and history and by that i mean that 6 out of 8 chapters involve no action whatsoever besides i little thing on spys while the 7 chapter involved the bombing and the 8th involved whom died and who was a hero if i had wonted to learn about the purple machine then i wouldve gone to a museum and learned about it instead of learning what they said before the attack which is totaly useless and it does inolve if not racial hatred itself it still "forgot" to tell of dead japanese and the japanese hero born that day anyway read this book if you wish to read a poorly substituted substitue for action or your moms forcing you too

This Book is a book of suspence and thrills. I still can't put it down! It is sad that the US could not defend Hawaii even after the translations from the PURPLE! The Japenese forces were strong,but very cruel. I'm glad we gave Japan a payback punch.
"POOOWWWWWW". "WE HAVE WAKEN A SLEEPING GIANT,THE US"!!!!!!!!!

Bruce Wichman is a descendant of a family that has made a hobby of collecting old legends of Hawaii. They are interesting to read but coincide little with historical fact from archeological and other evidence. So read them as magical stories. The problems of interpreting legends and myths are much greater than the author seems to realize. Without a written language, the information relies upon human memory and oral transmission primarily in chants over centuries. The olelo or text has word formulas the meaning of which was apparently less than clear to this author; the symbolic associations were and still are open to subjective interpretation which he does not appreciate; and the kaona or hidden meanings that gave the chants much of their mystic quality remain largely hidden to this day even to Native Hawaiians. The sound patterns and body language used in telling the tales are missing from the written records he used. The legends do tell us something about the early Hawaiians, however: their love of natural beauty; their respect for nature; the awe they felt at the mystery and magnificence of natural forces; and about their deep interest in gods, chiefs and heroes. But for the author to believe they are factual and then take the additional step of using them to establish place names goes too far. A few place names were in fact derived from legends of major events that took place at the sites, but this is true in only a few examples. The author fails to point out these few.

A well researched and presented book from an authority on Hawaiian legends and history. The author has had alot of access to local family history which has been passed down through the generations. Only a real kama'aina (One who was born and raised among the native Hawaiian people) would be knowledgeable in this area. People interested in the study of the local culture will find this book a rewarding and accurate resource for information about Hawaii's legends and their relationship to the named places.

Prof. Kame`eleihiwa did a lot of donkey work in the archives but advances an implausible explanation of the privatization of land in Hawaii in the mid-19th century. Her thesis of a vast multi-generational conspiracy is no more plausible than any other conspiratorial explanation of complex historical events. Never explain by conspiracy what can be explained by stupidity. The theory that foreign conspirators "stole" Hawaiian land is not improved by combining it with the claim that hereditary aristocrats who had spent decades ruthlessly pursuing their self-interest suddenly and generously gave up wealth and power. The Hawaiian king and aristocracy decided to privatize the land of Hawaii because the old system based on forced peasant labor was collapsing as the peasants died or left the land to take better jobs. By privatizing and partitioning the land among themselves, the king and aristocrats made themselves rich: they converted undevelopable land into valuable private property in their own hands. Then, in a display of conspicuous consumption well-grounded in traditional Polynesian culture, most of them splurged their new wealth and went bust. On the other hand, people, including peasants, who wanted to invest in land could buy plenty of land cheap. Those who invested wisely for the long term generally did well. No grand conspiracy theory is needed to explain that people act in their own self-interest and that people who act in their long-run self-interest usually do better than those who seek immediate gratification.

Compelling and unforgettable historical account of ancient Hawai`i from pre-Captain Cook up to the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, by prominent historian and Native Hawaiian Lilikala Kame`eleihiwa. Moving and detailed description of the devastating impact American imperialism exacts upon the minds, culture, and lives of the Native Hawaiian people. A must for those interested in a true history of Hawai`i.

The combination of the authors' perspectives, the subject matter and its historical perspective, and the eyewitness accounts were
very interesting and moving.

The book has drama, history, and personality......a rare combination!

What a wonderful experience! Reading this book was like being drawn into the living room to sit around the fireplace with the authors and survivors to hear their stories. Crying, feeling, hearing for the first time, learning, and even a laugh or two with my newfound treasury of friends. How refreshing it is to hear the stories told by those who were there as they remember it. I write this as someone who knows nothing about tactics or war and wasn't even a glimmer in my mother's eye at the time, as she was only a few months old at the time. I've tried to read those books with "true historical accuracy" yet got only a distant sterile factual (and boring) understanding. This book has brought the Arizona alive to me. The Arizona is not just a sunken ship. The Arizona is a living breathing bleeding screaming crying brave and courageous part of who we are as Americans. If I may be so bold as to embrace the men and their families as my own. We, Americans, are who we are because these men and their families have deeply empacted their corner of the world, which has become ours. Thank you survivors, authors, publisher, you have awakened an important part of my history in me. Now to live in a way that honors their memory.
review by: The Rev. Pam Feeser

One reviewer commented on the accuracy of this book - "I found this book written on a very basic level, with well known facts wrong (i.e. on Dec 7 people were 'watching the Dodgers play the Giants in late season football'. I always thought the Dodgers were a baseball team."

I checked this out, there was also a NY Dodgers FOOTBALL Team in the NFL in the 1930s and early 1940s. On December 7th, 1941, they were playing football against the NY Giants in New York City. There is a famous radio broadcast on CBS of this game as the announcer had to break in to announce that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor.

Very much in need of a revision. The authors made mistakes on the maps in this edition. In the past we depended on these series to guide us around Europe and thought they would lead the way for Maui too. If you purchase this book, buy a current map to go with it.

This book was very informative. Most information very exact.
But Maui was a large disappointment. Lahaina is the city of excesses, too many wandering panhandlers who appear lost in time.

After reading some of the other reviews for the Frommer's Portable Maui guidebook, it seems as if several reviewers have written off the book because it has an error on a map.

I've never used the maps (in fact, I didn't know that the book even had driving maps), but the rest of the book has been wonderful. We've been to Maui twice in the last two years, and each time we've used the guidebook to find wonderful things to do and places to see on the Valley Isle.

From restaurants and sightseeing to golf courses and hotels, all of the descriptions have been insightful, informative, and most importantly, useful. It's funny to go to an out of the way place and notice that all of the tourists are all carting around the same book.

If you want to avoid the tourist traps and discover what Maui is really all about, this book will give you a great start on finding fun in paradise.

Veronica is the only Sunfire book I did not like. It was all about a selfish, spoiled girl and I hated it. She did not even think about anyone but herself. It was very dull and not very romantic at all.

Veronica is a young 15 year old girl placed during the time of the bombing at Pearl Harbor. I love Sunfire books, and I thought it would be especially good, because I enjoyed the new movie that came out a few weeks ago. Yes, Veronica is a spoiled girl who usually gets what she wants, but she's also young, so she has a lot to learn. She had a lot of spirit throughout the whole book, and it gave it a more exciting perspective.

One of the reasons I gave this book three stars, and not five, was because from page four, I knew who Veronica would end up with. Knowing the history of the Pearl Harbor bombing gave away the ending, but it was still fun to read.

In the beginning, Veronica starts off spoiled, but through the book, we see her grow and change. I highly recommend the book.