Firsts and Almost Firsts in Hawai'I (Kolowalu Books) (Kolowalu Books (Paperback)) - Softcover

Robert C. Schmitt

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0824812824 ISBN 13: 9780824812829

Publisher: University of Hawai'i Press, 1995

Synopsis

This is the first book-length look at how and when a wide range of items made their first appearance in the Islands: from cockroaches, slot machines, and drive-ins to aloha shirts, parking meters, and shipwrecks. To satisfy the curious and the skeptical, endnotes and a bibliography listing more than 200 publications are provided, making this work a valuable reference for scholars and an entertaining handbook for trivia buffs.

About this title

Review:

"Fun to read. . . . Organized for easy reference and clearly written. Despite its brevity (and levity), the book is a valuable reference work for history buffs and more serious students of Hawaii's past."

From the Back Cover:

Firsts and Almost Firsts in Hawai'i, like the subject it celebrates, is itself a first - the first book-length look at how and when a wide range of items made their first appearance in the Islands: from credit cards, mongooses, cockroaches, dumb waiters, slot machines, and drive-ins to aloha shirts, computers, roller skates, parking meters, and shipwrecks. The most important and the most trivial are found in its pages - everyday household objects as well as major innovations in medicine, the arts, and government. Many entries will prove surprising to all but the most knowledgeable readers. To satisfy the curious and the skeptical, endnotes and a bibliography listing more than 200 publications are provided, making this work a valuable reference for scholars as well as an entertaining handbook for trivia buffs. The entries, organized by category, are complemented by numerous photographs and drawings, some never before published.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Hawai'i Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0824812824
• ISBN 13: 9780824812829
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 264
• Editor: Ronn Ronck