Author: stephchun

Sumo Fan Magazine Reviews Big Happiness

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Many thanks to Chris Gould at Sumo Fan Magazine for his thoughtful review of Big Happiness: The Life and Death of a Modern Hawaiian Warrior, by Mark Panek. While acknowledging that, for sumo cognoscenti, the book “cannot be awarded full marks for sumo content,” Gould writes:

“Panek has worked his fingers to the bone to produce some fine research into Hawaiian culture, and this book must rank as one of the most fun academic texts ever. It’s no mean feat to make a history and cultural book so accessible and readable, all the time drawing you into the character of Percy.”

Read Shoal of Time for Extra Credit!

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The New York Times review of Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell’s* trek through Hawai‘i’s past and present, urges readers to “check out” UH Press’ Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands “for extra credit.” We agree!

Gavan Daws’ classic work, first published in 1974, is still widely recognized as the best attempt at a broad, accessible history of Hawai‘i from the arrival of Cook in 1778 to statehood in 1959.

*Sarah Vowell will be at the Hawai‘i Book and Music Festival on Sunday.

Ethnoburb Wins Association for Asian American Studies Award

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Ethnoburb: The New Ethnic Community in Urban America, by Wei Li, has been awarded the 2009 Book Award in Social Sciences from the Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS). Professor Li will accept the award at the Annual AAAS Meeting in New Orleans on May 21, 2011.

“As Li’s well-written and thoroughly researched study demonstrates, American social, economic, political, and living patterns, and maintenance of the nation’s diversity rather than forced assimilation, will do much to strengthen the United States in the increasingly globalized world.” —H-Net Reviews

More Big Happiness

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Susan Schultz’s Tinfish Editor’s Blog features a great review of Mark Panek’s Big Happiness: The Life and Death of a Modern Hawaiian Warrior. The review comes in the later half of a nice, lengthy post on Susan’s fondness for the Windward side and memories of biking Okana Road, where Percy Kipapa was killed in 2005. Here’s how it starts–but read the entire post, “Grounded by Happiness,” for the full effect!

For some reason (a recent adoption? soon-to-be trip away from home? not yet bike-riding on Okana Drive?) I do not remember the murder of Percy Kipapa in May, 2005 on Okana Road. He had just come from a stop at the 7-Eleven across from the Hygienic Store. Even more strangely, I don’t remember the trial of his murderer a year later, a trial that was covered diligently by local media. So it was with a strange sense of a missing memory, one that ought to have firmly lodged there, that I read Mark Panek’s new University of Hawai`i Press book, Big Happiness: The Life and Death of a Modern Hawaiian Warrior. I am grateful for this book for many reasons: it is at once a loving elegy to the author’s friend, a history of Windward O`ahu since statehood (1959), an incisive piece of investigative journalism about land and water issues, development, and the crystal meth (ice) epidemic of the 1990s and 2000s. That epidemic struck all of Hawai`i–in fact, it struck many places like Hawai`i, where rural dreams run dry and the only way to make a living is to leave, join the military, hope to make it as an athlete–but it struck Kahalu`u particularly hard. It is also a book about Okana Road, about an area I know, however superficially, from the seat of my Specialized bike.

The Office for Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) radio show, Na ‘Oiwi ‘Olino, recently hosted a discussion of Big Happiness with Mrs. Priscilla Kipapa, Kevin Chang (OHA Land Manager), and the author. Listen to the broadcast here: http://am940hawaii.com/Player/100932661/

Waves of Resistance Book Launch

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Waves of ResistanceUniversity of Hawai‘i Press will launch the publication of Waves of Resistance: Surfing and History in Twentieth-Century Hawai‘i, by Isaiah Helekunihi Walker, on Saturday, May 7, 2011, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Native Books/Nā Mea Hawai‘i, Ward Warehouse (‘ewa end), 1050 Ala Moana Boulevard, phone: 597-8967.

Dr. Walker will give a talk and answer questions on his work, followed by a book signing, refreshments, and informal discussion. The public is invited to attend the free event. Books will be available for purchase and signing by the author.

A Bibliographic History of Guam

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GuahanBlending bibliographic integrity with absorbing essays on a wide range of historical interpretations, Guahan: A Bilbiographic History, by Nicholas Goetzfridt, offers a new approach to the history of Guam. Here is a treasure trove of ideas, historiographies, and opportunities that allows readers to reassess previously held notions and conclusions about Guam’s past and the heritage of the indigenous Chamorro people. Particular attention is given to Chamorro perspectives and the impact of more than four hundred years of colonial presences on Micronesia’s largest island.

Extensive cross-references and generous but targeted samples of historical narratives compliment the bibliographic essays. Detailed Name and Subject Indexes to the book’s 326 entries cover accounts and interpretations of the island from Ferdinand Magellan’s “discovery” of Guahan (“Guam” in the Chamorro language) in 1521 to recent events, including the Japanese occupation and the American liberation of Guam in 1944. The indexes enable easy and extensive access to a bounty of information. The Place Index contains both large and localized geographic realms that are placed vividly in the context of these histories. An insightful Foreword by Chamorro scholar Anne Perez is included.

“Goetzfridt’s work demonstrates the dynamics of history, each generation considering past events in light of current realities and contemporary understandings of the world. This volume, therefore, is important not simply because it provides us with an invaluable and substantial fount of references that will be supremely useful to teachers, scholars, and all enthusiasts of Mariana Islands history. Its importance lies also in its packaging as a resource for current and future generations to understand the changing face and contested space of Guam history.” —from the Foreword by Anne Perez Hattori

May 2011 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3481-4 / $55.00 (CLOTH)

Learn about Power Foods and Enter to Win a Free Copy of Eat Smart, Stay Well

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Eat Smart, Stay WellWhether you are looking for help with a particular medical condition or to maximize your intake of essential fats, vitamins, and minerals for optimum health, this is a reference book you cannot be without.

Many of us know the importance of eating a wide range of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. But less well known are the specific beneficial health properties of individual plants. Plant foods are powerful—they can lower your blood pressure, improve brain function, protect against certain cancers, repair nerve damage . . . the key is knowing which plants pack the most punch. Eat Smart, Stay Well, by Susanna Lyle, contains:

• Information on 115 readily available edible plants that will support and strenghten your health and wellbeing;
• Detailed analysis of what is in the plants and their specific benefits for a range of health issues;
• Recipe suggestions, which accompany many of the entries, and tables listing plants by specific health benefits for easy reference.

April 2011 / ISBN 978-0-8248-3593-4 / $19.95 (PAPER)

From April 25 to May 16, enter to win a free copy of Eat Smart, Stay Well at goodreads.com!

“…and then there will be cake.”

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UH Press and its major publishing partners exhibited at last month’s joint Association for Asian Studies (AAS)/International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) conference, held at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Conferees were treated to a reception featuring chocolates by Choco le‘a (the Press’ own Colins Kawai) and all manner of cakes:

Strawberry Custard: Cornell East Asia Series, Cornell University East Asia Program; UH Press
Lemon Custard: KITLV Press
German Chocolate: National University of Singapore (NUS) Press
Banana Custard: Ateneo de Manila University Press
Dobash (a Hawai‘i specialty, chocolate cake with chocolate pudding filling): Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) Press





2011 Ka Palapala Pookela Awards

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The annual Ka Palapala Po‘okela Awards, presented by the Hawai‘i Book Publishers Association, honor Hawai‘i’s best books, authors, and illustrators. This year’s award ceremony will be held on Friday, May 6, 2011, 5:30-9:00 pm, at the Mission Houses Museum (free parking at Kawaiaha‘o Plaza, on the corner of South and Kawaiaha‘o streets).

Tickets are $30 and include entry to the Museum, pupu and cocktails, gourmet chocolates by Choco le’a, and entertainment by Na Leo Pilimehana. Click here to purchase tickets: http://www.hawaiibooks.org/ or stop by the Mission Houses Museum or Native Books. The awards will be hosted by Kimo Kahoano and Carole Kai.

This year’s UH Press nominees are:

Regulating Paradise: Land Use Controls in Hawai‘i, Second Edition, by David L. Callies
(Excellence in Text or Reference, Excellence in Design)

A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Hawai‘i: The Main Islands and Offshore Waters by Jim Denny
(Excellence in Illustrative or Photographic Books, Excellence in Natural Science)

Living on the Shores of Hawai‘i: Natural Hazards, the Environment, and Our Communities by Charles Fletcher, Robynne Boyd, William J. Neal, and Virginia Tice
(Excellence in Natural Science, Excellence in Text or Reference)

Bright Triumphs from Dark Hours: Turning Adversity into Success by David Heenan
(Excellence in Nonfiction, Excellence in Design)

Hart Wood: Architectural Regionalism in Hawaii by Don J. Hibbard, Glenn E. Mason, and Karen J. Weitze
(Excellence in Illustrative or Photographic Books, Excellence in Nonfiction, Excellence in Design)

The Value of Hawai‘i: Knowing the Past, Shaping the Future edited by Craig Howes and Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwo‘ole Osorio
(Excellence in Nonfiction)

Hawaiian Birds of the Sea: Na Manu Kai by Robert J. Shallenberger
(Excellence in Illustrative or Photographic Books, Excellence in Natural Science)

Mauri Ola: Contemporary Polynesian Poems in English edited by Albert Wendt, Reina Whaitiri, and Robert Sullivan
(Excellence in Literature)

Polynesia: The Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection of Polynesian Art by Adrienne Kaeppler (distributed for Mark and Carolyn Blackburn)
(Excellence in Illustrative or Photographic Books, Excellence in Design)

Making Transcendents Honored

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Making Transcendents: Ascetics and Social Memory in Early Medieval China, by Robert Ford Campany, received an honorable mention for the Association for Asian Studies’ 2010 Joseph Levenson Prize (pre-1900 category). The Levenson Prize is awarded annually to English-language books that make the greatest contribution to increasing understanding of the history, culture, society, politics, or economy of China.

Praise for Making Transcendents:

“Campany summarizes scholarship on the sociology of secrecy, recent work on how identity is shaped through culture, and he supplies the best discussion I have read on the problems and explanatory potential of hagiography. The epilogue which addresses the fundamental problems of how we can assess the sincerity and motivations of adepts and the extent to which we can determine from stories about transcendents what really happened, is especially clear and eloquent. In short, this is a book as surprising and rich in detail as the stories that inspired it.” —Journal of Chinese Studies

“If one day we arrive at a more profound understanding of the hidden agendas behind so much of Chinese writing, hagiographical as well as historical, Making Transcendents will undoubtedly have played a significant role in that process.” —Journal of Asian Studies

“Invaluable for anyone who wishes to understand the phenomenon of sanctity in general and the Chinese cult of xian in particular.” —Religious Studies Review

Apps for KLEAR Integrated Korean Textbooks Now Available at iTunes

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KLEAR AppUse your iPhone or iPod Touch to study Korean vocabulary anywhere, anytime! Textbook Companion now offers apps designed to go hand-in-hand with the vocabulary from the KLEAR Integrated Korean series of textbooks.

Two versions of the apps are currently available for Beginning 1 and 2 (free)/(paid) and Intermediate 1 and 2 (free)/(paid).**

The paid apps access all the vocabulary from the texts with these features:

-Flash Cards: View in Korean or English, easily swipe through words from each lesson, and remove any words you already know.
-Vocabulary List: View all words in each lesson with the ability to show only one language at a time.
-Quick Search: Quickly search, in either Korean or English, for the definition and lesson of any vocabulary in the textbooks.

**Order the upgraded versions for just 99 cents until April 15. Apps will return to $2.99 after April 15.

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