A look at the published books written by Punahou alumni and faculty that span a variety of genres and subjects.
Michael Baughman ’55
“An Old Man Remembering Birds”
In a series of short, engaging essays, Michael Baughman ’55 reflects on his lifelong fascination with birds – from his deck in southern Oregon, at the end of a shotgun and on the beaches of Hawai‘i and Baja California. He reflects on human-animal relations, why humans seek closeness with nature and how a dedicated birder can also be a dedicated hunter. This is Baughman’s ninth book. His previous books include, “Mohawk Blood,” “Warm Springs Millennium” and the novel, “Grower’s Market.”
Thomas Bean ’65
“The Dumaru: WWI Lifeboat Deathboat Adrift at 15”
Connor “Sparks” MacBain ships out of Portland, Oregon, as a 15-year-old radio operator on the Dumaru, a green wooden ship designed to carry munitions into the final phases of WWI in the South Pacific. The ship is struck by lightning off Guam, and the crew are adrift in lifeboats in huge ocean waves and wind without any hope of rescue. This is a survival tale aimed at young adult readers in middle school and beyond.
Leslie Kirk Campbell ’69
“The Man with Eight Pairs of Legs”
This collection of short stories, which won the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, is about the ways our bodies are marked by memory, often literally, and the risky decisions we make when pushed to the extreme. Leslie Kirk Campbell’s ’69 short fiction has appeared in Ploughshares Solos and won awards at Arts & Letters, Southern Indiana Review, Briar Cliff Review and The Thomas Wolfe Review. The author of “Journey into Motherhood,” she teaches at Ripe Fruit Writing, a creative writing program she founded in San Francisco.
Paula Daniels ’73
“True Cost Accounting in Food: Balancing the Scales”
Paula Daniels ’73 co-edited this compilation of essays written by experts from around the world about True Cost Accounting, a metric-based method of analyzing the impact of our food production systems. This book can be used by professionals and policymakers involved in developing and reforming the food system, as well as students and scholars working on food policy, food systems and sustainability.
Chase Walsh ’93 Day
“The Australian Teamster Donkey: Heritage, Management and Future”
This is the story of Australia’s unique donkey breed, an animal that was vital to the opening-up of colonial Australia but then turned loose, forgotten and even despised. However, opinions are now changing, and they are being rediscovered.
Tori Brenno ’79 Eldridge
“The Ninja Betrayed”
Named one of The Los Angeles Times’ “Five Fall Mysteries You Shouldn’t Miss,” this novel by Tori Brenno ’79 Eldridge tells the tale of Chinese-Norwegian ninja Lily Wong in Hong Kong as she dives into the dangerous world of triads, romance and corporate disaster during the height of the pro-democracy protests. The book is a follow-up to Eldridge’s “The Ninja Daughter” and “The Ninja’s Blade.” Before writing, Eldridge performed as an actress, singer and dancer on Broadway, television and film, and earned a fifth-degree black belt in To-Shin Do ninja martial arts.
Timothy George ’73
“Japanese Constitutional Revisionism and Civic Activism”
Timothy George ’73 co-edited this book with several others. It examines the history of debates over the Constitution of Japan, addressing key legal decisions and interpretations, the history and variety of activism, as well as activists’ ties to party politics and to fellow activists overseas.
RB Herkes ’72
“Paddles Up! Huki! The Life and Love of Paddling an Outrigger Canoe”
RB Herkes ’72 presents a collection of stories about outrigger canoe paddling, beginning from his first ride as a child to racing in the world’s largest long-distance canoe race some 40 years later. During his many adventures, he shares the lessons he’s learned about paddling, life and enjoying the ride.
Richard R. Kelley ’51
“Paddling the Outrigger: Inspiration and Insights from the Journey of a Lifetime”
The late Dr. Richard R. Kelley ’51, who led Outrigger Hotels and Resorts for over four and a half decades and passed away on Feb. 24, 2022, recounts his family’s experiences as hospitality pioneers, operating a family-run business in the Hawai‘i of “days gone by” to its place as an iconic hotel brand. In frank observations, Kelley shares the philosophy of a successful entrepreneur and businessman, conducting business in Hawai‘i and globally and living and working in the most beautiful island archipelago on Earth.
John W. I. Lee ’88
“The First Black Archaeologist: A Life of John Wesley Gilbert”
Historian John W. I. Lee ’88 reveals the untold story of a pioneering African American classical scholar, teacher, community leader and missionary. Born into slavery in rural Georgia, John Wesley Gilbert (1863 – 1923) gained national prominence in the early 1900s, but his accomplishments are little known today. As we follow Gilbert from the segregated public schools of Georgia, to the lecture halls of Brown University, to his hiring as the first black faculty member of Paine Institute, and through his travels in Greece, western Europe and the Belgian Congo, we learn about the development of African American intellectual and religious culture.
Kathleen Manuzak ’10 Miller
“Ava Gets Her Wings”
Kathleen Manuzak ’10 Miller illustrated this children’s book, which tells the story of young Ava, who goes on a journey and finds out what it really means to get her wings. Miller’s background in elementary education child development inspired her love of illustrating children’s picture books.
Ligaya Rogers ’88 Mishan
“Filipinx: Heritage Recipes from the Diaspora”
Ligaya Rogers ’88 Mishan co-authored this cookbook with acclaimed chef Angela Dimayuga, offering 100 deeply personal recipes of Dimayuga and others of Filipino descent. Mishan writes for the New York Times and T magazine. She has been a finalist for the National Magazine Awards, the James Beard Awards and the IACP Food Writing Awards.
Ryon Rickard ’65
“Hilo’s Loveable Sampan Bus”
Ryon Rickard ’65 offers this history of the jitney/sampan bus in Hilo, complete with vintage photos. In the 1930s and 1940s, sampans ran routes around Hawai‘i Island, including from Hilo to plantation camps.
Ingrid Chiemi Schroffner ’88
“Karma Bank to Following by Listening”
This collection of song lyrics tells stories of warmth and sun, city and sand, paths that lead somewhere and the coins we can keep in the Karma Bank. The lyrics and art are by various artists, including Schroffner’s Punahou classmate Eric Humphreys ’88. All proceeds are directed to the Asian Community Development Corporation in Boston.
Madge Tennent ’61 Walls
“The Visiting Girl”
In this novel by Madge Tennent ’61 Walls, Paxton is out of funds and at loose ends, after graduating from Bryn Mawr College in 1901. With no immediate family, not raised to work and no husband in sight, she becomes a “visiting girl,” going from home to home among her married friends in Philadelphia. The book is inspired by the young life of actress Katharine Hepburn’s mother, an early graduate of Bryn Mawr. Walls currently lives near Portland, Oregon, where she works as a freelance indexer of nonfiction books and helps others write their memoirs.
Hanya Yanagihara ’92
“To Paradise”
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham described Hanya Yangihara’s ’92 third novel “To Paradise” as a “transcendent, visionary novel of stunning scope and depth. A novel so layered, so rich, so relevant, so full of the joys and terrors – the pure mystery – of human life, is not only rare, it’s revolutionary.” Meanwhile Washington Post reviewer Ron Charles says the novel “demonstrates the inexhaustible ingenuity of an author who keeps shattering expectations … She speaks softly, with the urgency of a whisper. She draws us into the most intimate sympathy with these characters while placing them in crises that feel irresistibly compelling. ”Yanagihara, the editor of T: The New York Times Style Magazine, is considered a tour de force in the literary world. Her first novel, “The People in theTrees,” was heralded as one of the best novels of 2013, and her second book, “A Little Life,” won the 2015 Kirkus Prize for fiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award in Fiction.