Book Review

Tom Coffman Special to The Hawai‘i Herald Commentary Gail Okawa begins her book — her story, her study — by saying she was born in a blackout during World War II. When she was a high-school student...

Gregg Kakesako Special to The Hawai’i Herald On Easter Sunday morning April 1, 1945, Hawai‘i-born Nisei intelligence analyst Takejiro Higa stared across the cobalt sea from the deck of a U.S. troop carrier to the island...

Gregg Kakesako Special to The Hawai’i Herald The body of literature of Asian Americans who faced suspicion and prejudice, but were able to strive and endure, continues to grow. Collectively, Japanese in America were stunned by...

"The Three-Year Swim Club: The Untold Story of Maui’s Sugar Ditch Kids and Their Quest for Olympic Glory” (Grand Central Publishing, 2015) is a feel-good inspiring underdog story, in a “Karate Kid” kind of...

Never Too Young to Learn Why We Should Always Strive for Peace Karleen Chinen Commentary Special to The Hawai‘i Herald This year, International Peace Day (Sept. 21) is being observed just a few weeks after the 75th anniversary...

Jodie Chiemi Ching Jan Iwase’s memoir “Leading with Aloha: From the Pineapple Fields to the Principal’s Office” came into my hands at the perfect time. With just two months of editorship at The Hawai‘i Herald under my belt, I still feel like I am learning to walk. Nostalgic, comforting and practical, “Leading with Aloha” was....

Frances H. Kakugawa From “Echoes of Kapoho,” Published with Permission Memoir writers are often accused of invading the privacy of others. “Did you write about me?” readers ask. “Is that woman my neighbor?” “Who were you writing about in that story?” When my book “Kapoho: Memoir of a Modern Pompeii” was released in 2011, I....

A New Book Examines Japan’s Alcohol Industry and Its Storied History Joe Udell Special to The Hawai‘i Herald While Japan is a relatively small country — roughly the size of the state of Montana — its 2,000 active breweries and distilleries are responsible for more than 20,000 unique products. That staggering output reflects the breadth....

Children’s Book Author Connected More with Children Than Adults Alan Suemori Special to The Hawai‘i Herald At the height of his literary success, British author Roald Dahl decided to write a tribute to a father he had barely known and a boyhood he had never experienced. Dahl wrote most of his story in an antiquated....

WHO/WHAT: Bamboo Ridge Press presents a book launch of  “Kona Winds,” the debut novel by Japanese American author Scott Kikkawa. This noir murder mystery is set in Honolulu in 1953, when Hawai‘i was evolving...