The Life and Times of John Young: Confidant and Advisor to Kamehameha the Great

John Young lived every man's dream of the South Seas. Marooned on a tropical island, facing death from his captors, he survived to become a confidant and military advisor to the tough young Hawaiian who one day would unite all the islands of Hawai'i into a kingdom. Married to a relative to the king, Young went on to become one of the alii, the ruling caste of the islands, and in a long and busy lifetime amassed wealth and power. He was the "white alii," and his reputation lived long after his death. Surprisingly, Young's colorful history has been told only in fragments, until now. In this exhaustively researched book, author Emmett Cahill has pulled together the known facts of Young's life in an interesting and informative way. This book will be the definitive work on this fascinating character. While details are sparse on the early part of Young's life - he was born in Lancashire and spent his early life at sea - by the time Young stepped ashore in Hawai'i he was an accomplished seaman, a bosum, and clearly a mature and responsible man recognized as such by the powerful alii and soon-to-be ruler of all Hawai'i, Kamehameha I. Young went on to be Kamehameha's close friend, for ten years governor of the island of Hawai'i, a faithful husband and the father of six children, and grandfather of Hawai'i's beloved Queen Emma. His many contributions to his adopted land were acknowledged at the end of his long life, when he was buried with the other alii in the Royal Mausoleum. This is history at its best, accompanied by superb illustrations by artist-historian Herb Kawainui Kane as well as historical photographs and prints.