This is the first of three volumes from Houses of Hawaii, 1840 – 2000, written by Don Hibbard, noted Hawaiian historian and surfing fiend (I’m taking artistic license here). Nobody has ever covered the subject the way Don does here, using the classic Acanthus mix of social and architectural history, placing the houses and people in the context of life on the islands. And what an interesting context it is: mixing island royalty with mainlanders, and buildings displaying native and far-flung architectural influences.