Pearl Harbor artist
Tom Freeman in town to
sign his new book

Artist Tom Freeman, whose historical and naval paintings have graced both paperback thrillers and corporate boardrooms, will be in town during the next week to sign copies of his new book, "Pearl Harbor, The Day of Infamy -- An Illustrated History," written by Dan van der Vat with an introduction by U.S. Sen. John McCain.

Freeman will be at Borders Ala Moana, 2 p.m. today; the Bowfin Museum, 6 p.m. Tuesday; and the USS Arizona Memorial Visitors Center, from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Freeman's painting of the USS Arizona is hanging in the White House, and he is now engaged in a new series of paintings dealing with Pearl Harbor. Eight are in the book, and the original paintings will be displayed at the Bowfin Museum in December.

While here, Freeman hopes to find two boys who he heard were fishing off a Pearl City pier in 1941 and witnessed the Japanese attack from frightfully close range. He would love to hear their firsthand account to help in creating a painting.

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ISLE PAGES

New releases from Hawaii authors or reflecting Hawaii themes, reviewed by Burl Burlingame:

War Letters,
Edited by Andrew Carroll (Scribner, $28)

Thanks to a note in a Dear Abby column three years ago, the Legacy Project was born, an initiative to collect together the writings of the average American soldier in letters home. Tens of thousands of letters and snapshots have been discovered in dusty attics and preserved. Project director Carroll has gathered together here many of the most poignant and revealing. Although the time span runs from the Civil War to the present day, more than half date from World War II and the Korean conflict. It's a powerful and ambitious statement. Although many of the letters mention Hawaii or take place in the Pacific Theater, the themes of loneliness, desperation and bravery are universal and frequently moving.

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Lehua, A Legend of Old Hawaii,
By Dietrich Varez (Island Heritage, $10.99)

A girl in ancient Hawaii saves the life of a wild pig, which results in a curse. Pig and girl go here and there to solve a riddle that will break the spell. Hawaiian words are explained in a glossary in the back. Curiously, although the book is both written and illustrated in absolutely charming fashion by Big Island artist Dietrich Varez, no credit is given on the cover, although the publisher's logo has been plopped in the middle of the cover illustration.

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Silver Sword,
By Charles Knief (St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95)

The review copy of this had a little sticker on the cover that said "Local Setting!" I guess the pictures of the Hawaiian shark-tooth weapon and silverswords on Haleakala didn't make it obvious enough. What we have here is your basic page-turner of a "hard-boiled" detective story, featuring Knief's Honolulu-based John Caine character, the star of his previous novels. Here, Caine is involved with Chinese gangs in San Francisco, beautiful scientists in Honolulu, Spanish treasure in Hawaiian seas and militant Hawaiian groups bombing Hanauma Bay. Knief rattles along splendidly, and bullets and snappy dialogue fly off the pages. The Hawaiian stuff is obviously written by someone who lives here at least part-time, as Knief does.

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