Primary Sources from UH Mānoa Library's Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection
MacLennen, Carol. Sovereign Sugar Industry and Environment in Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2014.
This book outlines the development of the sugar industry throughout Hawaiʻi and the deep impacts it had on the social and environmental makeup of the islands. MacLennen discusses how the socio, political, economic and environmental landscapes of present day Hawaiʻi are sugar’s "eco industrial heritage." The book details how quickly the transformation of Hawaiʻi took place, how many individual and collective decisions were made that altered the history of Hawaiʻi, and the role of both the natural and social worlds.
Joesting, Edward. Kauai The Separate Kingdom. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1984.
This book outlines the history of Kauaʻi from the settling of the island by Polynesians to the illegal annexation of Hawaiʻi by the United States government. The book’s detailing of the early history of Kauaʻi helps the reader get a feel for the island, which in turn helps to better understand the intensity of the changes and the power the island and its people have held over the centuries. The magic of Kauaʻi and history that is not often told can be found in this book.
Cooper, George and Gavan Daws. Land and Power in Hawaii The Democratic Years. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1990.
This classic Hawaiʻi political text outlines the Democrats' transition to power in 1954 and the effect it had on land and development. It is meticulously researched and paints a picture of how Hawaiʻi went from a hopeful land redistribution strategy to widespread and never ending development. The book tells the story of the power land holds in Hawaiʻi and drives home the point that both individual and collective decisions and whoever controls land have power.
Donohugh, Donald. The Story of Kōloa A Kauaʻi Plantation Town. Honolulu: Mutual Publishing, 2001.
This book details the evolution of Kōloa from early days to present day. The impact and evolution of the plantation, the lives of its workers, and the plantation’s effect on Kōloa town today are discussed. One can get a sense of how Kōloa, the oldest plantation town in Hawaiʻi, is a microcosm of development in Hawaiʻi.
Wood, Ellen Meiksins. The Origins of Capitalism. London and New York: Verso, 2017.
This book is an overview of the development of global capitalism from its beginnings in the countryside of England. It shows how the everyday choices of people led to massive shifts that have shaped the world we live in today. This book helps put the development of Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi into a longer term perspective and helps the reader to understand it through the lens of global capitalism. It also helps reveal the power people have in how they choose to reproduce their daily lives.
Fairbairn, Madeleine. Fields of Gold Financing the Global Land Rush. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2020.
This book details the role land is playing in the financialization of global capital. It again helps the researcher better understand why land is so important and the reasons why it is being bought by investment companies. The subject matter of the book helps put what is happening on Kauaʻi today in a larger context.
Sherman, Jennifer. Dividing Paradise: Rural Inequality and the Diminishing American Dream. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2021.
This book tells the story of another rural town turned into a tourism and amenity migrant hotspot. It helps the readers draw lines of similarity and difference between what is happening on Kauaʻi and in other rural locations in terms of people’s ability to survive and thrive in new rural economies.
Sassen, Saskia. Expulsions. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014.
This book is a higher level analysis of global economic changes and inequality. It details complex and basic processes that result in people being expelled from their land, jobs, and communities. This book can provide the reader a look into how these global processes materialize in various ways and affect everyday lives for millions of people.