Hawaii

A Novel

By: James A. Michener, Steve Berry - introduction

Narrated by: Larry McKeever, Fred Sanders - introduction

The saga of a land from the time when the volcanic islands rose out of the sea to the decade in which they become the 50th state. Michener uses individuals' experiences to symbolize the struggle of the various races to establish themselves in the islands.

©2017 James A. Michener (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"One novel you must not miss! A tremendous work from every point of view - thrilling, exciting, lusty, vivid, stupendous." ( Chicago Tribune)

"From Michener's devotion to the islands, he has written a monumental chronicle of Hawaii, an extraordinary and fascinating novel." ( Saturday Review)

Much to My Surprise, I Really Liked It

I have an Audible monthly membership, but to tell the truth, I don't really enjoy it. I keep it and get at least one book per month because I have a long commute. Having something to listen to makes the commuting easier. However, even if I like a story, I am often thrown off by the narration. It rattles me when a male narrator tries to mimic female voices and vice versa. It sounds so fake that it distracts me.

In the case of Hawaii by Michener, I truly enjoyed the narration by Larry McKeever, no jarring false voices. Besides that, I enjoyed Michener's concept of stories within at story, telling of the original Polynesian settlers, the New England missionaries, through WWII and beyond. Of Michener's books, I have only read Iberia, which is basically a non-fiction travel diary. Since I have lived in Spain twice, I was, of course, very interested.

Besides, what a bargain. 51 hours of narration for just one Audible credit! That filled a lot of commute time in a very enjoyable way.

A walk through history

What a fantastic story about my favorite place on earth. The mix of historical facts and fictional characters was great.

Epic

The story was epic and I could not stop listening. A great way to get familiar with Hawaii, its culture and its people

Interesting story

This book is probably why I have had the love affair with Hawaii that I have had. I read it first when I was in high school, and just recently listened to the audio version. Love the story, but there are a lot of characters to keep straight.
“AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY”

#GlobeTrotting #Hawaii #HappyEnding #Celebrity #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Great History!

loved this book, read it 20 years ago as gpod as I remember it to be!

Classic

Outstanding historical fiction. Clean invisible prose. Interesting characters. Interesting insights into the ways and strategies of a ruling elite.

5 books in one

One of Michner’s classics. It had some slow moments but overall kept me engaged in a great historical fiction. Loved it!

Enjoyed it

Like all of Michener’s books it begins with the formation of the earth. It’s long, but never boring. Throughout I found visualizing the characters easy and essential because of the excellent narrator. If you’ve read Michener before you’ll know the are few surprises. Nonetheless, his superb style is engaging.

Spectacular. Truly.

A remarkably spellbinding story. Woven together over generations in a way I've never read. This was my first Michener and I'll certainly be reading more.

Beautiful. It is so incredibly human.

A reminder that events must be taken in historical context, and not judged too harshly by current standards. We are here because our ancestors made those mistakes for us to learn from.
Some pronunciations are weird