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New releases from Hawaii authors
By Burl Burlingame
bburlingame@starbulletin.com"Queen Salote of Tonga" by Elizabeth Wood-Ellem (University of Hawaii Press, $22)
One of the commanding figures of 20th century Pacific history was Salote of Tonga. English newspapers liked to joke that she was the tallest monarch of the smallest kingdom - who presided over her piece of the British Commonwealth for a tumultuous half-century before passing away too young at age 65.
Salote's natural dignity and friendly personality won her friends all over the world, and yet she was a scrappy politician who managed to tie together feuding chieftain who rebelled against central authority. Wood-Ellem's dry text is copiously detailed and paints the Queen at a distance: she seems awe-struck by her subject. It could use some anecdotes.
"Pele Ma: Legends of Pele From Kauai," by Frederick B. Wichman, illustrated by Christina Faye (Bamboo Ridge Press, $15)
We tend to think of Pele as a Big Island deity, you know, the volcano and all. But there are Pele stories from all islands, and Wichman has wittily retold some from Kauai, accompanied by Faye's generously stippled artwork.
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