Review: Third ‘Voices of Hawai‘i’ book is a charm

Jane Marshall Goodsill’s “Voices of Hawai‘i Volume Three” is a welcome addition to the series, with several of the “voices” in “Volume Three” sharing stories that have been passed down through several generations, while others are contemporary.

Adding to the book’s appeal for many readers are the voices of people they know. For instance, Pakala Fernandes, twin brother of the late Kekua Fernandes and a member of the Farden linage, describes the circumstances that brought him home from Mexico, and a successful career playing French horn, for a musical reboot playing Hawaiian music with his cousin Douglas Pooloa Tolentino. Fernandes also reveals the origins of the family names Pakala and Kekua.

“Voices” contributor Ted Sakai served Hawaii as a prison warden between two terms as the head of the state Department of Public Safety. He describes how he sought to make prisons more about rehabilitation than about the warehousing of convicted felons.

At a time when violent crime in Hawaii seems to be on the upswing, and Hawaii’s prison system is filled past capacity with convicted felons, Sakai’s insights are more valuable than ever. (Sakai died in March).

Goodsill adds a bit of herself with an epilogue describing her experiences trying to give copies of her book “to random strangers without being perceived as a stalker or a creep.”

A couple of voices get their facts scrambled. The leader of the Sons of Hawaii was Eddie (not Eddy) Kamae; the third member of Booga Booga was Ed Kaahea (not Eddie Kamae); and, more important, the Japanese never “anchored an aircraft carrier off the northwest coast of Ni‘ihau.”

Those factual glitches don’t deduct a cent from value of this marvelous window into the experiences of people who call Hawaii home.

Christmas has come and gone, but “Voices of Hawai‘i Volume Three” is an excellent gift for all occasions. It can be ordered at bookshawaii.net.