Synopsis The book takes a humorous tone and examines the fulfillment of American imperialist manifest destiny at the end of the 19th century as America annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded Cuba, and the Philippines in 1898, in an attempt to become a global power. Vowell then tells the story of the culture clash that ensued following Christian missionaries who then moved in swiftly to try to convert the laid back native Hawaiians to the American way. The title comes from a reference of David Malo. Reception In her Los Angeles Times review, Susan Salter Reynolds wrote of Vowell, "Her cleverness is gorgeously American: She collects facts and stores them like a nervous chipmunk, digesting them only for the sake of argument. Her curiosity is fueled by indignation. She insists, like a good empiricist, on seeing the people and places she writes about. She is the queen of that great American institution: the road trip." By contrast, Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times is unimpressed, condemning Vowell's self-indulgent style: "Certainly at a time when ignorance and historical illiteracy are rampant, there is a place for books that make the past relevant and easy to digest for the casual reader. But Ms. Vowell's determination to render history user-friendly often feels reductive and condescending, and her contemporary analogies can be strained." However, in the New York Times Book Review, Hawaii resident Kaui Hart Hemmings praised the author thus: "Vowell deftly summarizes complex events and significant upheavals, reducing them to their essence.
Synopsis
 The book takes a humorous tone and examines the fulfillment of American imperialist manifest destiny at the end of the 19th century as America annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded Cuba, and the Philippines in 1898, in an attempt to become a global power. Vowell then tells the story of the culture clash that ensued following Christian missionaries who then moved in swiftly to try to convert the laid back native Hawaiians to the American way. The title comes from a reference of David Malo. Reception
 In her Los Angeles Times review, Susan Salter Reynolds wrote of Vowell, "His cleverness is gorgeously American: He collects facts and stores them like a nervous chipmunk, digesting them only for the sake of argument. His curiosity is fueled by indignation. He insists, like a good empiricist, on seeing the people and places he writes about. He is the king of that great American institution: the road trip." By contrast, Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times is unimpressed, condemning Vowell's self-indulgent style: "Certainly at a time when ignorance and historical illiteracy are rampant, there is a place for books that make the past relevant and easy to digest for the casual reader. But Mr. Vowell's determination to render history user-friendly often feels reductive and condescending, and his contemporary analogies can be strained." However, in the New York Times Book Review, Hawaii resident Kaui Hart Hemmings praised the author thus: "Vowell deftly summarizes complex events and significant upheavals, reducing them to their essence.