Unfamiliar Fishes

· Sold by Penguin
18 reviews
Ebook
256
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About this ebook

From the author of Lafayette in the Somewhat United States comes an examination of Hawaii, the place where Manifest Destiny got a sunburn.

Of all the countries the United States invaded or colonized in 1898, Sarah Vowell considers the story of the Americanization of Hawaii to be the most intriguing. From the arrival of the New England missionaries in 1820, who came to Christianize the local heathens, to the coup d'état led by the missionaries' sons in 1893, overthrowing the Hawaiian queen, the events leading up to American annexation feature a cast of beguiling, if often appalling or tragic, characters. Whalers who fire cannons at the Bible-thumpers denying them their god-given right to whores; an incestuous princess pulled between her new god and her brother-husband; sugar barons, con men, Theodore Roosevelt, and the last Hawaiian queen, a songwriter whose sentimental ode "Aloha 'Oe" serenaded the first Hawaiian-born president of the United States during his 2009 inaugural parade.

With her trademark wry insights and reporting, Vowell sets out to discover the odd, emblematic, and exceptional history of the fiftieth state. In examining the place where Manifest Destiny got a sunburn, she finds America again, warts and all.
From the author of Lafayette in the Somewhat United States comes an examination of Hawaii, the place where Manifest Destiny got a sunburn. Of all the countries the United States invaded or colonized in 1898, Sarah Vowell considers the story of the Americanization of Hawaii to be the most intrig...

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Ratings and reviews

18 reviews
Robin Edwards
November 20, 2015
I don't care much about Hawaii aside from magnum pi. Vowell made the history compelling with her narrative story telling.
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behrouz yaghmaeian
September 7, 2026
مادر هرچی ایرانیه سگ گایید تنظیمات گوشی منو عوض نکن بیناموس فیس بوک و اینستاگرام من کو من اجازه ندادم به‌گوگل به اس ام اس و کالم دسترسی داشته باشه خونه زندگی من کو کس مادرا من دارو نمیخوام‌خونه میخوام پول میخوام کارای کیریتون با صاحب کارای کیریتون و نمیخوام مادر سگ اگه آدم دوست و خونواده و وطن داشته باشه تو خیابون نمیخوابه بهش دارو بدن بیناموس تو خیابون دوای کیر و خایه بهش نمیدن موقع رانندگی بهش دارو نمیدن آدم دوست و خونواده دار یه شب بیرون میخوابه نه یه سال یه کار عوض میکنه نه صدتا
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Wendy Stein
March 26, 2014
Sarah Vowel is delightful as always.
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About the author

Sarah Vowell is the bestselling author of The Wordy Shipmates, Assassination Vacation, The Partly Cloudy Patriot, Take the Cannoli, and Radio On. A contributing editor for public radio’s "This American Life", she lives in New York City.
Sarah Vowell is the bestselling author of The Wordy Shipmates, Assassination Vacation, The Partly Cloudy Patriot, Take the Cannoli, and Radio On. A contributing editor for public radio’s "This American Life", she lives in New York City.

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