Born and raised in the most multicultural state in the union, President Barack Obama bears the indelible stamp of his native Hawai‘i. Stu Glauberman and Jerry Burris’s book, The Dream Begins: How Hawai‘i Shaped Barack Obama (Watermark Publishing, 2009), is a coming-of-age story set in Hawai‘i’s storied “melting pot”—a revealing look at the island state that is surely a core part of what makes Obama tick.

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Books make fantastic gifts—you can give someone countless gourmet meals, a trip to a far-flung land, transport them to the future or bring them back to their past all in a tidy package.

There’s a book to suit everyone’s taste, they last longer than a box of chocolates, they don’t go out of style, and everyone—young or old—appreciates a good story.

Here are a few gift ideas for this holiday season from Watermark Publishing’s catalog:

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My last post was a Wish List of novelists I’d like to hear in person Here’s a list of nonfiction writers I’d like to see, either at the Hawaii Book and Music Festival, or in a subscription series in Hawaii.

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Hūlili is a multidisciplinary forum for current research that examines the nature, needs, and strengths of Hawaiians, their families, and their communities. Through collaboration and critique, Hūlili fosters new connections and shared insights to mobilize greater Hawaiian well-being.

Born and raised in the most multicultural state in the union, Barack Obama bears the indelible stamp of his native Hawai‘i. The Dream Begins: How Hawai‘i Shaped Barack Obama is a coming-of-age story set in Hawai‘i’s storied “melting pot”—a revealing look at what makes Obama tick.

Authored by veteran political writers Stu Glauberman and Jerry Burris, the 160-page book examines Obama’s early years in Hawai‘i. The self-described “skinny kid with the funny name” flourished in the Islands, where local values foster tolerance, compromise and mutual respect—and where diversity defines people rather than divides them. The social mores of the Aloha State and the experience of growing up in an island culture have had a deep and lasting influence on the candidate. Obama himself has noted, “What’s best in me, and what’s best in my message, is consistent with the tradition of Hawai‘i.”

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Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace is a harvest of creative, redemptive storytelling—nonfiction, fiction, and poetry—spanning five wars and written by those most profoundly affected by it. For more than fifteen years, National Book Award-winning author Maxine Hong Kingston has led writing-and- [...]
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Stories of dissenters to war with Iraq within the government and military forces, by Honolulu residents Colonel (Ret.) Ann Wright and UH educator Susan Dixon

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Cindy Sheehan’s memoir describing her reinvigoration of the American peace movement in 2005

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