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Unfamiliar Fishes
Paperback, 238 pages, Penguin Group USA, List Price: $16 | purchase
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Book Summary
An irreverent analysis of late-nineteenth-century imperialism in the United States focuses on the annexation of Hawaii as a defining historical milestone, covering such contributing factors as the missionary overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and the activities of whaling fleets.
Genres:
This book is about:
- Territorial expansion,
- Imperialism,
- Americanization,
- Colonization,
- Annexation to the United States,
- Hawaii,
- Foreign relations,
- History,
- United States
NPR stories about Unfamiliar Fishes
New In Paperback
Feats Of Strength: Hawaiian History, The Wild West, And Being A Small Business
Sarah Vowell has always been a tourist. She views history with a visitor's eye. It's a method that served her well in Assassination Vacation, her comic examination of presidential killings, and The Wordy Shipmates, about Puritan culture in New England. Unfortunately, writes critic Dan Kois, it's not so successful in her new book, Unfamiliar... more
What We're Reading
Sarah Vowell's Hawaiian Adventures; New York History Told On One Block; A Foodie Memoir Of ElBulli
March 22, 2011 Sarah Vowell takes on the American occupation of Hawaii, author Katharine Greider dives into New York history through the lens of her crumbling Manhattan row house, and Lisa Abend follows the apprentices toiling away in the molecular gastronomy labs of Ferran Adria's elBulli.
Book Reviews
'Unfamiliar Fishes': Sarah Vowell's Glib Luau Tales
March 22, 2011 Sarah Vowell turns her acerbic wit on the epic story of Hawaii, up to the U.S. annexation in 1898. Vowell's quirky tone has its charming moments, but as critic Dan Kois writes, "deadpan casualness may not be a useful stance from which to approach the story of the death of a nation."
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