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Lost Kingdom

Hawaii's Last Queen, the Sugar Kings and America's First Imperial Adventure
Nov 19, 2014lukasevansherman rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Well-researched, absorbing, and ultimately dis-spiriting book about the last years of the Hawaiian monarchy, the power of the sugar merchants, and our annexation/conquest of the 50th state. It centers on the last queen, Lili'uokalani, but there are also larger than life figures like Captain Cook, who "discovered" the islands, Sanford Dole, who was briefly the President of Hawaii, German sugar baron Claus Spreckles, and a host of fortune seekers, missionaries, and capitalists, who brought down the kingdom. It is a sad end to a proud land that is now mostly viewed as a tourist destination for mainlanders. I'd also recommend Sarah Vowell's more sardonic "Unusual Fishes."