The Island Edge of America: A Political History of Hawaii

Respected journalist and author Tom Coffman offers readers a much-needed political narrative of 20th century Hawaii. In his most challenging work to date, Coffman reinterprets critical events leading up to and following statehood in 1959: U.S. annexation of the Hawaiian kingdom, World War II, post-war labor organization, the Cold War, the development of Hawaii's legendary Democratic Party, native Hawaiian nationalism. The Hawaii presented here is a "mixed plate" of complex and conflicting identities (independent kingdom, overseas colony, U.S. state, indigenous nation), a wonderfully rich and diverse, and at times troubled, place. With a sure grasp of Hawaii political history and culture based on decades of firsthand and archival research, Tom Coffman brings an entirely fresh approach to interpreting "the island edge of America." Soft cover. Printed in the United States. 420 pages. 6 inches by 9 inches.