Unfamiliar Fishes

Biography & Memoir, Literary, Historical, Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell, Penguin Publishing Group
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sarah Vowell ISBN: 9781101486450
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group Publication: March 22, 2011
Imprint: Riverhead Books Language: English
Author: Sarah Vowell
ISBN: 9781101486450
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication: March 22, 2011
Imprint: Riverhead Books
Language: English

From the author of Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, an examination of Hawaii, the place where Manifest Destiny got a sunburn.

Many think of 1776 as the defining year of American history, when we became a nation devoted to the pursuit of happiness through self- government. In Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell argues that 1898 might be a year just as defining, when, in an orgy of imperialism, the United States annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded first Cuba, then the Philippines, becoming an international superpower practically overnight.

Among the developments in these outposts of 1898, Vowell considers the Americanization of Hawaii the most intriguing. From the arrival of New England missionaries in 1820, their goal to Christianize the local heathen, to the coup d'état of the missionaries' sons in 1893, which overthrew the Hawaiian queen, the events leading up to American annexation feature a cast of beguiling, and often appealing or tragic, characters: whalers who fired cannons at the Bible-thumpers denying them their God-given right to whores, an incestuous princess pulled between her new god and her brother-husband, sugar barons, lepers, con men, Theodore Roosevelt, and the last Hawaiian queen, a songwriter whose sentimental ode "Aloha 'Oe" serenaded the first Hawaiian president of the United States during his 2009 inaugural parade.

With her trademark smart-alecky insights and reporting, Vowell lights out to discover the off, emblematic, and exceptional history of the fiftieth state, and in so doing finds America, warts and all.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

From the author of Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, an examination of Hawaii, the place where Manifest Destiny got a sunburn.

Many think of 1776 as the defining year of American history, when we became a nation devoted to the pursuit of happiness through self- government. In Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell argues that 1898 might be a year just as defining, when, in an orgy of imperialism, the United States annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded first Cuba, then the Philippines, becoming an international superpower practically overnight.

Among the developments in these outposts of 1898, Vowell considers the Americanization of Hawaii the most intriguing. From the arrival of New England missionaries in 1820, their goal to Christianize the local heathen, to the coup d'état of the missionaries' sons in 1893, which overthrew the Hawaiian queen, the events leading up to American annexation feature a cast of beguiling, and often appealing or tragic, characters: whalers who fired cannons at the Bible-thumpers denying them their God-given right to whores, an incestuous princess pulled between her new god and her brother-husband, sugar barons, lepers, con men, Theodore Roosevelt, and the last Hawaiian queen, a songwriter whose sentimental ode "Aloha 'Oe" serenaded the first Hawaiian president of the United States during his 2009 inaugural parade.

With her trademark smart-alecky insights and reporting, Vowell lights out to discover the off, emblematic, and exceptional history of the fiftieth state, and in so doing finds America, warts and all.

More books from Penguin Publishing Group

Cover of the book Lock No. 1 by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book Majipoor Chronicles by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book The Moral Molecule by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book The Mother of God by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book Natural Highs by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book Speed by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book The Hollywood Trainer Weight-Loss Plan by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book Longarm 361 by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book Over My Dead Body by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book Rashi's Daughters, Book I: Joheved by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book The Last Letter from Your Lover by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book Assassin's Creed: Black Flag by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book Heart Fortune by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book Slocum #407 by Sarah Vowell
Cover of the book Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror by Sarah Vowell
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy