Mark Twain in Hawaii: Roughing It in the Sandwich Islands, Hawaii in the 1860's

Great stories by an American literary icon. He gave a glimpse into the old days of Hawai'i.

OK, I'm a huge Twain fan...of his travel books not his fiction. His sly, sarcastic sense of wit permeates his travels and provides the reader with an extremely entertaining read, which paints a portrait of Hawaii at that point in history, which you can build on with further writer's accounts in different years. I have read every travelogue Twain wrote and I continue to re read them with delight. He and I are definitely on the same page with horses...lol.

Mark Twain's book about Hawaii is a strange little book. I'm not unhappy that I read it because there are some great stories of visiting volcanoes. However I didn't learn very much about the inhabitants of Hawaii. It was more like a history lesson interspersed with tales of horse riding around one island. I can't say the horse was treated very well which made me sort of mad. There are also some stories of surfing back in the 1800s. However the tales of human sacrifice and murder make this a reality check in view of Hawaii's current paradise status. I just didn't know the history of Hawaii before. Mark Twain is however a great writer and his descriptions and attention to detail are sometimes awe inspiring. But did I laugh? I guess I didn't think anything in this book was funny. I bought it for the humor but got a history lesson instead. I think it is worth reading but it wasn't at all what I expected.~The Rebecca Review

NICE little book, very interesting read and has some most interesting old pictures of Hawai'i.Great book if you love Mark Twain AND the Hawaiian Islands as we do. Michael

I bought this while on my trip to the Big Island. It was great to see the island in another time period. Also, Twain is hilarious as usual. A must by travel book.

This is a watered down version of his full book on Hawaii. (Or rather edited down to the most funny bits.) It was was early on in his career, so may also be a little "rough" around the edges. A great little companion to read if you're going to Hawaii or just like Twain.

Mark Twian hit the nail on the head trying to explain the ways of Hawaiin people. He is a colorful writter...I really enjoyed reading this informative book. I would recommend it to any one going to Hawaii for the first time...it gives a good history of the Islands!

bought it for a trip to Hawaii; read while there...it was great! He's so funny! I learned some things about Hawaii you don't find in the tour books.