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73rd out of 565 books
—
840 voters
Unfamiliar Fishes
by
Sarah Vowell
Many think of 1776 as the defining year of American history, when we became a nation devoted to the pursuit of happiness through self- government. In Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell argues that 1898 might be a year just as defining, when, in an orgy of imperialism, the United States annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded first Cuba, then the Philippines, becomi...more
Hardcover, 238 pages
Published
March 22nd 2011
by Riverhead Hardcover
(first published February 4th 2011)
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I thought that after a year of grad school I would never want to voluntarily read nonfiction again. But it turned out I wanted to voluntarily read nonfiction nearly immediately, because I'd had this waiting patiently on my Kindle the entire year. I was so excited about this because I've loved her other books, and the topic of this one seemed far more outwardly interesting to me. Unfortunately I didn't like it quite as much as her others. I can't tell if the problem was me -- I think I really wan...more
I made the mistake of listening to this instead of reading it for myself. I enjoyed the book quite a bit, but her voice made it difficult to listen for long periods.
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Sarah Vowell makes reading and learning history the most irreverent fun you can experience in confronting the reality of what actually occurred versus what textbooks sugarcoat or ignore. The United States' acquisition of the Hawaii islands is eerily similar to the acquisition of America in its infancy when the Native Americans had to be "civilized" and "Christianized." Acquisition is, of course, a well-used euphemism for stealing. Having just visited the island of Oahu and having some inkling of...more
In Unfamiliar Fishes, Vowell heads to the shores of Hawaii to chronicle the transformation of Hawaii from the arrival of Captain Cook and the first missionaries to the de-throning of Hawaii's last monarch. Not a complete history by any stretch but still a good primer for learning about Hawaii's very complicated and upsetting history.
Her history-heavy storytelling and deadpan casual narration style while still entertaining, came off a bit clunky with this one. That being said I love me some Sarah...more
Her history-heavy storytelling and deadpan casual narration style while still entertaining, came off a bit clunky with this one. That being said I love me some Sarah...more
Vowell has a great way of knocking the higher goals of historical figures - she cuts through the hyposcrisy really well - and at the same time elevating the intentions of these very human people.
The people populating this book are the Hawaiians (both royal and common), missionaries, military, Mormons, and politicians. Then Vowell proceeds to illustrate, in her own biting fashion, how these guys interact. Like all of Vowell's books, I was struck by the intricacy of the history...no matter what w...more
The people populating this book are the Hawaiians (both royal and common), missionaries, military, Mormons, and politicians. Then Vowell proceeds to illustrate, in her own biting fashion, how these guys interact. Like all of Vowell's books, I was struck by the intricacy of the history...no matter what w...more
I ADORE Sarah Vowell. I usually gobble up her books, and relish listening to the audio versions. So this, unfortunately, was a disappointment for me. I am not at all interested in Hawaii, but was sure that I would be once I heard Sarah Vowell's version of it. However, the usually incredibly witty (and often snarky) Vowell, was no where to be found. Granted, she made some fun of the missionaries coming from New England, but not much. This read much more as a history of Hawaii with very few of the...more
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Fascinating and wry look (as expected from Sarah Vowell) at how Hawaii became annexed by the United States.
Well worth the time to read or listen, as I've found (despite my hearing problems) that I enjoy the author's narrated audio books better...if only to exactly know the pitch and tenor of her snark at times. :)
Well worth the time to read or listen, as I've found (despite my hearing problems) that I enjoy the author's narrated audio books better...if only to exactly know the pitch and tenor of her snark at times. :)
I'm such a Sarah fan and remain so today. But, this is definitely not one of my favorites. I looked forward to it so much and it was a hard realization for me about half-way through when I realized it just didn't have the same effect on me as her other work. I hate to give her anything but rave reviews and highly recommend about anything else she's done, but this one was a letdown.
This book examines the history of Hawai'i and how it came to be part of the United States of America. This story is one of tragedy and triumph, while sharing in no uncertain terms that the Kingdom of Hawai'i was usurpred by "unfamiliar fishes" (Europeans and others) who came to the land with ulterior motives, using friendship with Hawaii'i's natives as a means to gradually gain greater control, ultimately leading the nearly complete obliteration of Hawai'i's traditional way of life.
Sarah Vowell...more
Sarah Vowell...more
This is the third Sarah Vowell book I've read, and probably my second favorite. While not the mini-master that Assassination Vacation was, it was still more of a page turner than Wordy Shipmates. At this point, I'm beginning to understand what to factors determine the success or failure of a Vowell book (for me at least): First, my interest in the subject matter in general and, second, here reliance (or, over-reliance) on direct quotes.
With regards to the first factor, I've been to Hawai'i a co...more
With regards to the first factor, I've been to Hawai'i a co...more
"'Over the Rainbow' is as sweet and soft as trade winds rustling through the palms. It is the perfect song for Hawaiian vacations because the tranquility of its sound captures the feeling tourists flock there to find. Even though it's a song that is actually about the human inability to be happy where one is, the suspicion that joy is always somewhere else. It is not unlike the hymns the New England missionaries brought to Hawaii, advertisements for heaven, that other elusive elsewhere where tro...more
I really enjoyed this book, even though it made me long for Oahu with an incredible intensity I've not felt for sometime. A little of this longing came from remembering facts I'd learned in my state history classes, some stemmed from memories of roaming around the island and independently learning about the history and peoples that settled there, and some of it came from fond memories of the current customs and eccentricities that Vowell mentions in her book. Surprisingly, it was a little more e...more
Ah Sarah Vowell. Her voice carries this little book. Her dry and self-depracating humor carries us through the appalling historical details. Her accounts of conversations with Hawaiian historians and archivists are gems and the snippets of journals bring the historical figure's minds to life. So I would recommend this book to anybody from the mainland, or new to Hawaii, who wants a very quick, broad-brush introduction to the strange history of this 50th state, from Captain Cook to the overthrow....more
3.5 stars... Vowell wants to know exactly how Hawaii got to be the way it did and what happened to native Hawaiian culture. (In other words, why were there so many white people in The Descendants?) In her even-handed at dryly funny way she finds that there's plenty of blame to go around. Missionaries from New England brought education, which led to a written language, but wanted to Americanize the Hawaiians. You may lose track of the chain of succession of lengthily named Hawaiian kings; Vowell...more
A BCBC selection and a KPL selection. Maybe not the best way to finally learn some Hawaiian history but it was a really fun way to do so. I liked it so much, after reading it,I listened to the audio book. Not as good as the book although it was a uniquely produced audiobook with multiple actors. I got a bit lost, good thing I had read the book already. Also Sarah mispronounces one too many Hawaiian words. I am the worst so if I noticed it, is must have been pretty bad. But Sarah's voice is so qu...more
On page one Vowell establishes a clever metaphor for the theme of this book. She is in Hawaii eating a plate lunch of macaroni salad and shoyu chicken under a banyan tree. What do they all have in common? The banyan tree, shoyu chicken, macaroni salad, and author are all from somewhere else. From then on, Vowell takes readers on a rollicking voyage back to 1778, when James Cook landed on the shores of Kauai and named the archipelago the Sandwich Islands, through the next hundred years as the pro...more
I am fascinated with the history of Hawaii and its people. The Bishop Museum in Oahu is one of my favorites in the world. It's were I learned that native Hawaiians and Maori are closer related then Maori and Aboriginals of Australia. This book is about Sarah's research on the missionary experience in Hawaii, which is also very interesting to me. Did you know that Hawaiians actually wanted to get colonized by the British and they were *thisclose* but missionaries from the East Coast of the US arr...more
Jan 15, 2012
Phil
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in Hawaii, US history, or the history of Christian missionary work.
Recommended to Phil by:
My daughter Emily
When my daughter gave me a signed (by the author) copy this book for Christmas, I had no idea what it would be about, whether it was fiction or non-fiction. As it turns out, the title refers to the Anglo-Americans from the United States who arrived in Hawaii either as missionaries or as sailors around 1820. This book is a biting criticism of those who proselytized, colonized, and eventually annexed Hawaii for the United States. The polemic is clear enough, yet laid out with wit and with first-pe...more
I have a confession to make, I LOVE SARAH VOWELL. When I heard that she was going to be doing a reading and Politics and Prose, I drug not only my husband to see her, but my mother-in-law who was in town that weekend.
If I know you, and I know that you haven't ever read a Sarah Vowell book I will immediately start to offer up the books that I own (and I own all of her books - hardback, that is how committed I am) to you to start your literary journey with one of the funniest and smartest writers...more
If I know you, and I know that you haven't ever read a Sarah Vowell book I will immediately start to offer up the books that I own (and I own all of her books - hardback, that is how committed I am) to you to start your literary journey with one of the funniest and smartest writers...more
If Sarah Vowell was my aunt, I would want to travel the world with her and have her orate every historical marker and museum we would visit; instead of putting on those nasty headsets they generally give you. But alas, I'm likely older than Ms. Vowell and also not her niece. (Okay! I looked up her age out of curiosity and she is slightly older than me.) I enjoy Sarah on NPR and I enjoy her just as much in written form. Her sarcastic humor and attention to history appeals to me. How many women do...more
Nov 07, 2011
Ms.pegasus
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who has visited Hawaii; history buffs
Shelves:
history,
nonfiction
UNFAMILIAR FISHES opens with a string of tourism anecdotes, leaving readers to wonder: What is the point? The point is the cataclysmic changes to Hawaii between Captain Cook's landing in 1778 and its annexation as a US territory a little over a century later. Rather than sticking to chronology, Vowell selects key events and shows how they spread, tsunami-like, across the Pacific. Thus the westward expansion into the Oregon Territory, and the California gold rush spurred the island's transition f...more
Really liked the style of the book – written in a semi-rambling conversational style that I found quite engaging. Like an extended chat with the author. She did a good job of bouncing from the present to the past and back.
The book talks about the transition Hawaii underwent after western contact (Captain Cook and his death) to annexation by the USA. I am fascinated that upon contact Kamehameha unified the islands by force, using guns and cannons, but that his descendents did not maintain enoug...more
The book talks about the transition Hawaii underwent after western contact (Captain Cook and his death) to annexation by the USA. I am fascinated that upon contact Kamehameha unified the islands by force, using guns and cannons, but that his descendents did not maintain enoug...more
What did I know about Hawaiian history before reading this book? Something about missionaries replacing hula skirts with muu muus and Father Damien's work with lepers. Neither of these things were mentioned specifically in the book. It did mention an immense white ankle-length garment given to the queen. The leper colony was mentioned, but not Father Damien.
The title and theme of the book can be summed up with a quote from missionary and educator, David Malo, who became disenchanted with the Ame...more
The title and theme of the book can be summed up with a quote from missionary and educator, David Malo, who became disenchanted with the Ame...more
Oct 06, 2011
Cheryl Gatling
added it
I listened to the audiobook version of this. I didn't listen to it right away. When I saw the title in the list of downloads, I couldn't remember what it was. My reading tastes are broad, I admit, but had I really chosen to read a book about fish? Why? Then I saw that it was by Sarah Vowell, and I didn't care what it was about. I knew it would be interesting, informative, and entertaining. Any Sarah Vowell book is one part history, one part journalism, and one part sarcasm. I enjoy history, but...more
You can read my full view here: http://virtualmargin.blogspot.com/2011/04/unfamiliar-fishes-18100.html
Vowell's newest book is a brief study of the Americanization of Hawaii and the events that led to its annexation in 1898 -- the same year America also acquired Cuba, the Phillipines, Puerto Rico, and Guam, turning it into a super power overnight, in what she refers to as "an orgy of imperialism."
I came to this book not really knowing diddly about Hawaii's history, beyond what was probably covere...more
Vowell's newest book is a brief study of the Americanization of Hawaii and the events that led to its annexation in 1898 -- the same year America also acquired Cuba, the Phillipines, Puerto Rico, and Guam, turning it into a super power overnight, in what she refers to as "an orgy of imperialism."
I came to this book not really knowing diddly about Hawaii's history, beyond what was probably covere...more
Definitely, one of the few historical narratives that entertains while informing. Author Sarah Vowell gives an overview of the history of Hawaii by focusing on the introduction of New England missionaries to the islands, and the subsequent impact of their arrival. In this book, dates and major events take a backseat to the evolving relationships between conflicting cultures. Best, Vowell presents her narrative in a way that almost makes you feel like you are watching reality television ala Jerry...more
Sarah Vowell has a great sense of dry humor and a health interest in history. If you have heard her on the radio it's difficult not to hear her voice inflections as you read her books.
This book was sent to me by a friend who shares my interest in Hawaiian history who read it and was somewhat disappointed that it focused so much on the many missionaries and less on the royalty of the more ancient Hawaii. I told her that the story of the missionaries WAS the history of Hawaii in many ways. I liked...more
This book was sent to me by a friend who shares my interest in Hawaiian history who read it and was somewhat disappointed that it focused so much on the many missionaries and less on the royalty of the more ancient Hawaii. I told her that the story of the missionaries WAS the history of Hawaii in many ways. I liked...more
Sarah Vowell is always enjoyable, and sure enough, I enjoyed this book about the early contacts between Hawaiians and non-natives, the establishment of missionary activities, and other various events leading up to the U.S. annexation of Hawaii. Shortly after starting the book, as in, around the third sentence, I realized I didn't know anything about Hawaii that I hadn't learned in multiple re-readings of "Liliuokalani: Young Hawaiian Queen" in the Childhood of Famous Americans series, and seeing...more
Argggh. I wrote a review, tried to find a way to format it, lost the whole thing, so bear with me. And now the Formatting Tips have mysteriously appeared to the right of this page, as if someone had read my mind too late.
I felt sad as I finished this book. I always thought the activists for an independent Hawaii must be crazy, but they have a point, a very strong point.
Sarah Vowell does an excellent job of honing in on the most important issues in the history of Hawaii from the time missionarie...more
I felt sad as I finished this book. I always thought the activists for an independent Hawaii must be crazy, but they have a point, a very strong point.
Sarah Vowell does an excellent job of honing in on the most important issues in the history of Hawaii from the time missionarie...more
It's good to see writers address this period in history; a lot of people don't know much about the imperialistic push of the late 19th century as it tends to get glossed in high school textbooks. Sure, they admit the U.S.S. Maine wasn't actually attacked, they suggest vaguely that we might have sent a couple of boats to Nicaragua, and they tell us how bad the poor American entrepreneurs had it living under the thumb of a Hawaiian monarch. They don't go into much detail, however, and many high sc...more
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Sarah Jane Vowell is an American author, journalist, humorist, and commentator. Often referred to as a "social observer," Vowell has authored several books and is a regular contributor to the radio program This American Life on Public Radio International. She was also the voice of Violet in the animated film The Incredibles and a short documentary, VOWELLET - An Essay by SARAH VOWELL in the "Behin...more
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“I guess if I had to pick a spiritual figurehead to possess the deed to the entirety of Earth, I'd go with Buddha, but only because he wouldn't want it.”
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13 people liked it
“For Americans, Acts 16:9 is the high-fructose corn syrup of Bible verses--an all-purpose ingredient we'll stir into everything from the ink on the Marshall Plan to canisters of Agent Orange. Our greatest goodness and our worst impulses come out of this missionary zeal, contributing to our overbearing (yet not entirely unwarranted) sense of our country as an inherently helpful force in the world. And, as with the apostle Paul, the notion that strangers want our help is sometimes a delusion.”
—
4 people liked it
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