Hawaii : True Stories of the Island Spirit (Travelers' Tales)

Hawaii reveals her remarkable true nature, sometimes, to those who venture beyond tourism's mai tai veil in search of reality in this legendary Pacific haven. Discovering Hawaii is likely to be a lifetime labor of love, not easily accomplished during a two-week vacation. Yet insights do reward those travelers who approach the Islands and their people with open minds and hearts, humor, and humility, even if the encounters are brief. Travelers' Tales: Hawaii, edited by Rick and Marcie Carroll, whose own combined experiences in the Hawaiian Islands exceed three decades, presents a spectrum of such insights about Hawaii by articulate travelers and resident story tellers.

This book features personal stories by many different contributors, ranging from new voices to well-known authors such as John McPhee, Jan Morris, Jim Houston, Paul Theroux, Maxine Hong Kingston, Rick Bass, and Barbara Kingsolver. They include veteran travel writers, first-time visitors, long-time kama'Aina residents and native Hawaiians. Their stories reveal Hawaii in a way no book has done before and explain some reasons why millions have continued to travel to the globe's most remote islands over the centuries in search of "paradise."