Tiki of Hawaii Paperback – September 17, 2005

You gotta be kidding me? Any Tiki fan would find this book worthless. It does include some nice history of Hawaii especially in reference to Tiki but that is where it abruptly ends.The fluffy Tiki Of America chapter contains tacky clip art images, images copied from Sven Kirsten's Book of Tiki, and fairly common non-Tiki imagery. The writing throughout is very weak and sounds like a string of headlines/jargon rather than independently researched information. The Don the Beachcomber info seems informative, unless you already own Scrounging the Islands with the Legendary Don the Beachcomber.The book is barely saved by the last segment, Tiki Of Today, which attempts to tie the current Tiki trend into modern day Waikiki.

Good for starters.

If you are looking for a book that explains the different Hawaiian statues, the different gods they represent, and the ceremonies that were used to worship them, this is not it! If you are looking for a book on with an overview of Hawaiian history and it how it has influenced mainland pop culture, than you'll be just fine. I was hoping from the title that this would give me more context on exactly which gods were worshiped on the islands, the history of those gods, and how those gods were represented and worshipped. Unfortunately, there is a better overview at the Tiki Room in Disneyland. Though, I did enjoy the Hawaiian history that was shared, and also enjoyed the pop culture tie-ins.

This is a fun refresher course in Hawaiian history complete with illustrations to complement the story. Tiki’s were wooden carvings of the gods that ruled in Polynesia for 2,000 years. Today they fall in the category of Hawaiian kitsch found in restaurants and shops throughout the Islands that have not lost their allure. I really enjoyed this well-informed account and accompanying photos. I learned about a couple of sacred sites with historical significance that I have not visited. In my research for Wai-nani: A Voice from Old Hawaii I tried to visit as many of them as I could to ensure that I was being true to the culture.

If you have ever seen a Hawaiian tiki and wondered about what it meant then you need to add this book to your library. There is information about Hawaiian history in here along with the definitions of beliefs from the tiki's. If you are planning a trip or just want to gain some background information this is a great book and easy to read.

This little book is a great read -- the first chapter is an accurate history of Tikis in Hawaiian History. Schweitzer then proceeds to trace the use of this symbol by pop culture, bars, restaurants, singers, on the mainland and in the islands. Excellent writing, superb graphics.