Voices of Hawai‘i

Life Stories from the Generation that Shaped the Aloha State

For Jane Marshall Goodsill, Voices of Hawai‘i began as a labor of love. A kama‘āina accomplished in the art of oral history, she began interviewing Island residents who had known her late father, a partner in a venerable Honolulu law firm.

But avocation soon became vocation. As Goodsill’s joy in recording these life stories grew, so too did her pool of subjects: business executives, war veterans and POWs, retired plantation managers, Island entertainers, conservationists, taro farmers, educators, broadcasters, retailers, ranchers, activists, judges, journalists and so many others. Taken together, their oral histories told a fascinating, behind-the-scenes tale of Hawai‘i’s journey from the World War II era into the 21st century.

The best of these candid interviews—compelling tales of deals made and glass ceilings shattered, of ancient ways revived and legacy lands preserved—are collected here under the themes of Island life: history, race, land use, art and music, philanthropy, development, and the spirit of aloha.

Contributors include:

Frankie Anderson • Chris Benjamin • Corky Bryan • Carl Carlson • Jim Case • Phillip Ching • Gerry Ching • Lois Taylor Clarke • Zita Cup Choy • Linda Coble • Mary Cooke • Chris Cramer • Mitch D’Olier • Walter Dods • Peter Ehrman • John Fink • David Fairbanks • Dennis Fitzgerald • Mark Fukunaga • Gary Gill • Marshall Goodsill • Ruth Goodsill • Jimmy Greenwell • Alice Guild • Moses Haia • Neil Hannahs • Peggy Hannan • Stuart Ho • James Hustace • Daniel Lam • David Lee • Bob Liljestrand • Robin Loomis • Ronald Lum • Duncan MacNaughton • Peter McKenney • Luanna McKenney • Kenneth Makuakāne • Fujio Matsuda • Randy Moore • Ronald Moon • Willson Moore • Mina Morita • John Morgan • Audrey Newman • Puakea Nogelmeier • Mike O’Malley • Raymond Okada • Valerie Ossipoff • Frank Padgett • Diane Paton • Kaui Philpotts • Martin Rabbett • John Reppun • Randy Roth • Dean Sakamoto • Jim Scott • Steve Siegfried • Riley Smith • Oz Stender • Sigrid Southworth • Kelvin Taketa • Ray Tam • Bill Tam • Laura Thompson • Curtis Tyler • Jeff Watanabe • Betty Webster • Carol Wilcox • Riànna Williams • Tom Williams

Author: Jane Marshall Goodsill
Hardcover; 236 pp.
Release Date: December 2020

So much of Hawai‘i’s history would be lost without these types of anthologies. People tend to think that Hawai‘i evolved on its own, without realizing the “behind the scenes” (and often uncelebrated) hard work of people like Marshall Goodsill and others.

—Raymond K. Okada, trust and estate litigation attorney

I have enjoyed my dive into the inviting section themes of this book. Such a creative approach to mining nuggets from oral histories. It was a terrific idea that delivered on its promise. Reading this book sort of feels like hanging out with old friends and many of the iconic figures of my generation.

—Neil Hannahs, Founder and CEO, Ho‘okele Strategies

I just turned the last page and closed the cover of Voices of Hawai‘i. Every chapter, and I mean every chapter, was meaningful to me. Voices has inspired me to talk to my one-quarter and one-eighth Hawaiian offspring about my experiences growing up. I hesitated for so many years to share my heritage and experiences with my kids, but this book has changed that for me.

—Frank Washburn, CEO, Washburn Consulting