Arcadia Bestsellers

Waikiki, literally ""spouting water,"" is the name of what was once a lush wetland area where three mountain streams met the Pacific Ocean.

With changes brought by American colonialism and the expansion of the United States to the Pacific Ocean, Waikiki was transformed into one of the most popular beachfront tourist destinations in the world. With a topography featuring Diamond Head, picturesque beach spots, and the expansive Kapi'olani Park, recreation has reigned in Waikiki for much of its contemporary history. However, it was once a place of small neighborhoods, family-owned shops, restaurants, and lei stands. As locals met foreigners, Waikiki's landscape changed from rural to urban, and today an estimated 65,000 tourists visit Waikiki each day. A big city or small town, Waikiki has become part of America's story.

Explore the charming city with a timeless style and resilient population, ever-vigilant against the potential of another destructive wave.

Hilo (pronounced ""Hee-low"") is the second largest city in Hawai'i and the seat of government for the Big Island of Hawai'i. Giant trees shade its avenues, and a string of picturesque beach parks line the crescent-shaped shoreline of Hilo Bay. It was from here that King Kamehameha the Great launched his fleet of war canoes to conquer the Hawaiian Islands and, later, where whaling ships and schooners dropped their cargoes of sailors, missionaries, and sundry goods. The bay is still active with modern seafaring vessels enjoying the protected waters inside a famous stone breakwater. Two majestic and scenic mountains, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, overlook the city and the bay. Hilo itself holds many stories of ancient gods, kings and queens, the missionaries who came to challenge both, immigrants who came to work the sugar cane fields, and numerous destructive tsunamis that Mother Nature sent to challenge them. Century-old buildings remain, as do the descendants of merchants that prospered here.

Explore the beautiful island of Kauai through this magnificent collection of photographs.

Capt. James Cook stood on his ship gazing at the coastline of Kauai and the Hawaiian village of Waimea in 1778. Kauai was its own kingdom then, and King Kaumualii - the king of Kauai who challenged Kamehameha and managed to keep Kauai from being conquered by him - would not be born for two more years. The oldest and northernmost of the main Hawaiian Islands, Kauai did not see well-meaning missionaries until 1820. From the moment Cook put Kauai on the map, it has gathered admirers from all over the world who come to experience its exquisite beauty and wonder. Fortunately, many photographers have had their own love affairs with Kauai, leaving a vast amount of documentation.

See how O'ahu's North Shore became and why it has been recognized as a special place for as long as people have inhabitated it.

Once the site of the largest heiau, or temple, the North Shore of O'ahu contained two large valleys and other things considered so valuable that bloody wars were fought over their control. Later, the North Shore became famous for sugar, pineapples, ranching and the plantation life that brought thousands of immigrants from all over the world to the most remote part of O'ahu. It was on the North Shore that Hawaiians mixed with Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Koreans, Filipinos, Puerto Ricans, Spaniards, Irish, Scots, English, and Americans to mold the rural yet cosmopolitan society for which Hawai'i is now famous.

Today, the Hawaiian temples are silent, sugar is gone, and only remnants of the old plantation buildings and ranches remain. But the North Shore's fame is now refocused, as it is recognized as the surfing capital of the world.

Before Honolulu became one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, there was a small Hawai'ian settlement at the edge of a natural harbor known as Kou.

Named Kou for the sheltering, orange-blossomed trees, the area was ideal for launching canoes for fishing and cultivating fields adjacent to the Nuuanu Stream. In 1845, King Kamehameha III moved the permanent capital of the Hawai'ian Kingdom from Lahaina to O'ahu, and the Honolulu we know today started to take shape. The name Honolulu means "protected harbor'? and that is what the tropic paradise must have felt like as the city began to grow in commerce and resources. Americans began to flock in from the mainland as tourists, businessmen, and missionaries, and immigrants from around the world traveled to this small island to begin a new life. Successive waves of immigrants came to this port town, bringing with them new religions, architecture, education, foods, and social mores. The small confines of this town encouraged cross-pollination of peoples and ideas that fostered the unique neighborhoods that give Honolulu its character.

The Hawaiian island chain has long been a crossroads of cultures. Oahu’s name is sometimes translated as “the gathering place,” and its appeal is undeniable. Even before the arrival of Western powers, Hawaiian chiefs struggled for control of the island. As far back as the 1700s, many would-be colonizers had their eyes on Pearl Harbor—the United States, the British, the Russians, and the Japanese. For decades, only one thing was certain. The Hawaiian monarchy would not be left alone to rule their own people. More than a hundred years before “the day of infamy,” December 7, 1941, the story of the United States’ military occupation of Hawaii begins with the Western world’s discovery of what was at the time called Wai Momi, the beautiful and, unfortunately, strategically located “waters of pearl.”

Sarah Bellian is a historian and curator of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Museum at Pearl Harbor. She previously worked in museums and public history in Texas and Idaho. During the pandemic, she began a deep dive into Hawaii’s often difficult relationship with the US military. In addition to telling stories, she enjoys craft beers, historical swordsmanship, and playing roller derby.

This collection of vintage postcards of Kauai spans 100 years, beginning with Hawaii's annexation and Kauai's history as a tourist destination.

Postcards bring back the history of Kauai from the earliest visitors, arriving first by sailing vessel and then steamers to the infancy of air travel. Surely some of the people who saw these postcards for the first time thought there must be a good amount of artistic license being taken--surely this little slice of paradise was too good to be true! As droves of tourists descended upon the island from mainland United States and all across the world, they realized if anything, the postcards couldn't capture Hawaii's real beauty. Viewing these vintage postcards, the reader will be reminded of the glory years of the Kauai Surf, the Coco Palms, and the Hanalei Plantation, showing many other favorite landmarks that have been lost to time and Mother Nature.

Hawai'i is filled with traditions, history, and mythology that are sure to engage and interest any reader.

Although its soils are the youngest in the Hawaiian chain, the Big Island's chronicles are at times epic, tragic, and heroic, but always fascinating. Modern Hawai'i is filled with tradition and mythology, accommodating influences as diverse as its inviting landscape. Kamehameha stood tall to mold this nascent region into a unified kingdom and others fought to sustain it, while outside forces molded and shaped this island in astonishing ways.

December 7, 1941-the day a sleeping giant awoke. Japan's surprise attack devastated the American Naval Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and forced the Americans into WWII. These moving accounts of the lives affected by the assault capture the scope of the day's emotions and repercussions. Viewpoints of both historical and imagined characters include the mother of a Japanese pilot, officials from both countries, and the grandchild of a WWII veteran.
Powerful illustrations accompany every tale.