aloha, all
a week from tomorrow we fly to kauai!
I'd love to find a book that covers mythology, local history, folklore for the trip. Something with lots of good stories. Any recommendations?
best,
LB

I also like this kind of information. But here on the mainland, that might be difficult. Use this website: http://www.aloha.net/~kokee/. This is located in a park by the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific". You can use the web or go to Kokee Lodge and buy the book. You might even be able to call them and ask them where else on the island can you buy.
Have you searched amazon books or borders books website for Hawaiin History?

Thanks for the link, Jay.
I have to admit to having done very little research on this thus far. Been preoccupied with trip planning. But I enjoy a place so much more when the stories/myths/history are available to me.
Thanks again. I'll post here if I uncover any good leads.
LB

You might enjoy "Kaua'i Tales" by Frederick Wichman, published by Bamboo Ridge Press, 1985. the pen and ink illustrations are very nice too. I got my copy at a gift store in Hanalei in 1998, hopefully it is still available for sale. when we toured Limahuli Garden, on the N. shore, our volunteer guide pointed out the landmarks visible from there and told the stories, the same as in the book.

Have a great trip!

Borders in Kauai has a huge section.

"Stories of Hawaii" by Jack London,"Shoal of Time" by Gavan Daws, "A Dream of Islands" by Gavan Daws, pretty much anything by Gavan Daws. Any book store and most tourist shops in Hawaii have a good selection. For something special you might try the Kauai Museum in Lihue, it has lots of artifacts and vintage photos, I would assume they have a bookstore/giftshop that would have what you are looking for.

Aloha!

h.wedgie,
Check out the Menehunes of Kauai and the Legend of the Sleeping Giant.

There is also a tale of a guy who was something like the Robin Hood of Kauai that hid out in the Waimea Canyon/NaPali Coast area. His name escapes me. May have been falsely accused of a crime while defending his family??
5 mo' days????
Kal

Really enjoyed "Six Months in the Sandwich Islands" by Isabella Bird. Written in 1875, the book is a pretty amazing account of a British woman's travels through Hawaii. It covers all of the islands. (Even though you are not heading to the Big Island, her account of the erruption of Kilauea and her visit to the Waipio Valley is fascinating reading.) It's published by the same press as the Jack London collection mentioned. I believe that Kal is referring to the story of a Ko'olau the Leper, a man who fled with his family to the Napali Coast to avoid being sent to the Leper's Colony on Molokai. Jack London tells his story in the short story, "Ko'olau the Leper" which is included in "Stories of Hawaii." These books are available in the very comprehensive Hawaii section at Borders in Lihue.

Oops, forgot to mention another highly enjoyable book that would be a great Hawaii read: "Blue Lattitudes," by Tony Horowitz. It is very entertaining and well researched book on Captain Cook's voyages. Lots of fascination reading on South Pacific culture.