I like this book, and I like to use it in my English 93 classes.
At first, I felt the book presented a key Hawaiian figure, Eddie Aikau, in a fine, though perhaps too journalistic way. By that I mean, when I assign books to my students, I want the style and the organization as well as the obvious subject matter to be worth attention and emulation, and I underestimated Coleman's presentation at first. His style on the level of the sentence is solid, though unremarkable; however, his organization on the chapter level and within each chapter is intelligent and thoughtful, worth close attention, especially at the English 93 level.
I also appreciate this book for the heroics and the frailty of the main figure, Eddie Aikau. I appreciate the presentation of Hawaiian history, of the difficult and necessary Hawaiian Renaissance, and of specific personal and social issues that waylay the people in the book. The writing is accessible and engaging, and yet in assigning the reading, I can be demanding in terms of student understanding and retention of information in ways that seem perfectly appropriate and useful.
I have teamed this book with three documentaries: Heart of the Sea, Surfing for Life, and Bustin' Down the Door. The first two videos offer significant models for living that our students deserve to be faced with: legendary and extraordinary Rell Sunn, her pioneering surf-career, and her fight against breast cancer; Doc Ball, Fred van Dyke, Peter Cole, Woody Brown, Rabbit Kekai, Anona Napoleon, among others--all surfers in their 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's! Both videos offer lots of history and social issues as well. The third documentary--Bustin' Down the Door--had a mainstream theatrical release in the summer of 2008, so you may have seen it recently. Eddie Aikau and his brother Clyde Aikau both appear in the film, though the focus is on the Australian and South African surfers who galvanized the sport, who created a professional sport, of surfing. Coleman devotes a chapter to the material in the Bustin' DVD, so using the video is actually essential. (Besides, the tale of Rabbit Bartholomew and Shaun Tomson is gripping in its own right.)
