Julia Flynn Siler

Mm. Donaldina Cameron is an important figure in Asian American history, though not without some tinges of white savior. She did have genuine relationships with her charges over the years, though, and tbh religiously motivated missionaries were certainly more helpful to the Chinese American community than the "economically anxious" politicians.

This did seem to meander a little bit towards the middle, as it initially seemed like this was going to be a biography of Donaldina Cameron and the history of the Mission House but expanded to include San Francisco Chinatown history of the period like Dr. Ng Poon Chew and his paper, and Arnold Genthe the photographer. Chapters were short- about 5 pages, including an image and really felt more like vignettes loosely in a theme together. Still, this is another book to teach people about the effects of Chinese Exclusion on American immigration policy and how it shaped our communities for the longest time. I shouldn't be surprised that not many people are as familiar with this period as they ought to be, but I have the familial connection of relatives who *did* come through via the merchant exception, and at least one paper son in my tree (I suspect others, but even though parties are long dead relatives still remain tightlipped over the whiff of illegality). I would've liked a tighter focus on the Mission House and its residents rather than an overview of Chinese American history, but again, if it's not history someone's already familiar with I can see how it's compelling.

Re: the title- "white devil" is a colloquialism I heard used to reference white people in general (baakgwai per wiki's romanization, which I guess more accurately is "white ghost") so I'm not sure if it was an epithet towards Ms. Cameron in particular, but it does make for an eye-catching title.

Given there is an Ah Toy in the Cinemax show Warrior (albeit maybe a decade or two younger than the real Ah Toy was at the time), I feel like we're going to see a fictionalized version of Cameron sooner rather than later.… (mais)

between 2 and 2.5 stars. this was good for general history, to get an idea of what really was going on when the white christians came to hawaii, up until annexation. it sometimes felt like she jumped from detail to detail, and the point got lost for me, and i also would really have liked a little more commentary and interpretation. i think she was being a journalist and trying to really just state the facts, but this is colonialization and it comes with judgement, which i would have liked to have seen more of. it also seems that some of her biography of lili'u was maybe different than what others have written, and i would like her to have addressed that. it's ok with me if she was a little biased (in favor) in her opinion of lili'u, but i'd like to know more about why, or why she dismissed some of what others have said.

"What happened to the Kingdom of Hawai'i was one of the most audacious land grabs of the Gilded Age, in which 1.8 million acres of land now worth billions of dollars was seized from native Hawaiians and claimed by American businessmen."

i think the ridiculous strictness of the puritans has finally started to be driven home when a story was related in which one of the reasons given for expelling someone from school was that he used an ampersand in a composition instead of writing out the word 'and.'

"Because Hawaiian history was passed down entirely through chants and stories until the first few decades of the nineteenth century, there are far more accounts available of the island kingdom written by foreigner travelers and missionaries in English than there are by native Hawaiians."… (mais)

I will start by saying that I was in the mood to read a good, solid history book, and this definitely fit the bill. In addition, I did not know much about the history of Hawaii prior to it being annexed by the U.S., and this book did a great job in filling that gap for me. The neat thing about reading it is that it "reads" like a fiction piece in the sense that it has a good narrative, and it will engage you.

Siler's book tells the tale of Hawaii from the time when Cook landed on the islands that were known as the Sandwich Islands up until the point when annexation occurs. It is a very interesting tale, but it is also a tale of intrigue, a lot of political play and maneuvering, and often tragic moments. Indeed the title is very appropriate for in annexation a kingdom was lost. That the U.S. can brag it has a royal palace on U.S. soil does not convey the conflicts and imperialistic schemes that came to pass for that to happen. In this regard, the book also provides a lesson in early American imperialism. This is a time when the famous declaration of "the frontier is closed" happened in the U.S., so Americans were seeking new places to expand in terms of territory and trade. The Hawaiian Islands were a very alluring place to expand. Well, they were alluring to many; even some in the U.S. did debate on whether to annex or not, often depending on what interests they were trying to safeguard. The big interest that seems to loom large in the story is that of sugar. Siler shows us how the sugar trade played such a central part in the story, shaping the monarchy as well as the drive to annexation.

The book has a simple organization. It runs two parallel stories, so to speak. One is the story of the royal dynasties leading to Queen Lili'u, the last monarch of the Kalakua House and the last monarch of Hawaii. The other story is the story of Hawaii and the sugar barons who shaped the nation and the economy of Hawaii in ways that no armed force could do. In essence, the sugar interests were the real rulers and owners of Hawaii, even to the point that the monarchy was in heavy debt to them. And yet, towards the end, Queen Lili'u finds a very unlikely ally, one I did not expect, but when you realize much of this is about watching out for your interests, the alliance made sense. I will let you read the book to find out who it was.

The book displays excellent research. It is clear the author did a lot of work and spent a lot of time in archives seeking out material to write the history. She draws heavily on the diary of the Queen, a woman who was intelligent, cultured, and a song composer who was committed to being a true chiefess to her people. The author also draws on various other sources as well. The book features extensive endnotes and bibliography (in fact, this research material does take about a third of the book at the end). The book also features a good set of photos and illustrations as supplementary material. I think the visual materials provide a nice visual element to the story.

Maybe the only reason I gave it four stars out of five is because it left me wanting more. What happens after annexation? There was a bit of closure in the epilogue though. Maybe that is another topic for another book? I will add that for me, being familiar with the Spanish-American War, this book added a bit of a new perspective to that part of history as well given Hawaii did play a strategic role for the U.S. as a "coaling" and supply station on their way to the Philippines.

Overall, a neat and interesting read. If you are looking for a good history book with a good narrative, this may be a good choice for you. If you want to learn more about Hawaii and go past the usual images of Pearl Harbor, the tourist attraction and volcanoes, this is a book for you. And if you want a book on a chapter of American history and its imperialism, then this is a good book for that as well.


Final note: To make the FTC happy, I am disclosing I won this book in a GoodReads First Reads giveaway. (Though between us here, I had noted this book earlier as one to read, so winning it was a neat thing).

… (mais)