Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 12, 1 December 1988 — Book Review [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Book Review

On the Na Pali Coast; A Guide for Hikers and Boaters, By Kathy Valier Umversity of Hawaii Pressf $10. 95. The Na Pali region of Kaua'i is now a wilderness area, but it was onee a plaee where many Hawaiians lived. Well preserved Hawaiian stone ruins ean be seen everywhere, thanks to the ruggedness of the Na Pali coastline whieh has inhibited the construction of modern roads and houses. Access is difficult. Famous Kalalau Valley ean be reached by either hiking the 10-mile-long Kalalau Trail from Ha'ena or by boat. Some of the valleys, such as Awa'awapuhi and Nu'alolo 'Aina, are so isolated that they ean by reached only by boat. Today the area is one of our finest state parks. This book is an excellent guide to the park, and a brief, authoritative, and readable introduction to the natural and cultural history of Hawai'i. It provides useful information for anyone who is curious about what ean be seen while hiking Hawaii's trails. The book is well illustrated with maps and drawings that nicely complement the text. The Department of Land and Natural Resources should prepare similar guidebooks for all state parks. Earl Neller

Keneti South Seas Adventures of Kenneth Emory By Bob Krauss University of Hawaii Press Nearly 400 pages have been written about the life and times of this archeologist in the Pacific. Surely the subject of this publication is more in the domain of celebrities and "superstars," not aeademics. But the biography of Kenneth Emory, pioneer and "fathfer" of Pacific archaeology is more compelling, delightful and absorbing than those of "modern" day heroes. Using recorded interviews, diaries, newspaper ' articles, published documents and many of Emory's colleagues and students as resources, author Bob Krauss has been able to successfully shift through the vast amount of information about Emory, his personal life and his career. Krauss is able to retain the humor and ironies whether they be the way Emory had met his wife, Marguerite (Marae) or the academic debate and tussle between Emory and Frank Stimsom over the supreme god cults of Kio/Io in the Pacific. Expedition and archaeological dig are rendered with pretty mueh a detail to detail account as if it had occurred just a few years ago, but these events were the pioneer 1920-1930's when very little was known about the Pacific, and even less about the ancestors of the islanders. Those of us who know the Emorys, some of us who as youngsters had been told of Dr. Emory as indeed a legend, are fully aware of his contribution to establishing a thoughtful and scientific appreciation of the Hawaiian and Pacific cultures. We have been delighted and awed by him in the inner sanctums of the Bishop Museum. But those who have not had that opportunity will certainly be able to gain some insight into why such a man, nieknamed "Peanuts" and whose professional career was not one to make a fortune, ean be so well thought of, praised and be given to be a legend in his own time. Keneti is a precious story of eommittment, dedication, a true love for the people whom he studied and lived with, and of the real rewards to a man who has followed his bliss and aecomplished it. Keneti is also the story of how archaeology and ethnography, the study of people through their artifacts and their cultures, in the Pacific began as a scientific field, especially centered here in Hawai'i through the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. The reader will be able to leam of the struggles to establish this field, the

operation of the Museum, the individuals involved and the tremendous and valuable information whieh has helped to tell the story of the ancestors of the Pacific and of Hawai'i. There is perhaps only one thing missing, what one might term the inamona or relish of this legend, and that is what the Pacific Islanders and Hawaiians thought of Keneti Emory. There are many stories that ean be told from that point of view but perhaps that is for another story teller to tell at another time. Keneti has several pages of photographs from early childhood through the Pacific expeditions and archaeology in Hawai'i. And there is even a very good chronology of Emory's life near the back of the book. Maleolm Naea Chun

The scenic Na Pali coast of Kaua'i.

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Awa'awapuhi valley, Na Pali coast.