Sarah Vowell | Time Out Chicago

In what Sarah Vowell calls “an orgy of imperialism,” the United States in 1898 laid claim to island nations scattered across the seas, including Cuba, the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. Only that last one became a state (70 years later), through a joint resolution that, Vowell notes, is the kind of legislation through which New Jersey would declare a spot on the calendar “Jon Bon Jovi” day. The self-described “smart-alecky” historian talked to us from her home in New York City about spring break, imperialism and her new book about Hawaii, Unfamiliar Fishes (Riverhead, $25.95).

Did you get interested in Hawaii because we have a Hawaii-born President?
No, I started working on it before that guy got elected. I wasn’t upset about it, though. I mean, I voted for him, but I also thought, This could be good for the book.

So what interested you in it, then?
The boring answer is that I was fascinated by the era of the Spanish American War. And then we went to war in Iraq, which I thought was déjà vu of the Spanish American War: a preemptive war that had troubling consequences ahead. I went to Hawaii three times over a couple of years and started learning about the fascinating lead-up to its Americanization, with all of the missionaries and sailors landing there.

It’s never a good sign when an interviewee says, “The boring answer is…” but that wasn’t actually boring.
Good, thanks. You know how people write books that sound good in a sentence, or have these takeaway phrases, or things you can use as a consumer? I’m not one of those writers.

I didn’t expect to find so many New Englanders in Hawaii’s history.
Yeah, well, the Hawaiians probably didn’t, either. They got the worst of both sides of New Englanders, the wild drunken sailors on leave and the puritanical missionaries who think they’re going to hell. Those are the two extremes which make us unattractive as a culture: Sunday schoolers and spring breakers.

Most Americans don’t know the history of Hawaii. We’re taught that Alaska was Seward’s Folly and Hawaii the tropical score. Did you know much about it going in?
I knew a little bit, just from going there. I’m not the kind of tourist who does a lot of “Hawaii things.” The first time I went there I visited the [USS] Arizona memorial and the Iolani Palace tour. On my third trip to Hawaii with some people, I was telling them about the palace and how interesting it is, and urging them to get off the beach and take a historic house tour. None of them were going to do it. I couldn’t believe they would go to Hawaii and choose to spend their free time lollygagging in the sun.

I like how you put historians and laymen on equal footing. So you’ll quote from someone’s memoirs or from a tour guide.
I just don’t distinguish among the places where I learn things. You can learn a lot about the sociopolitical situation in Hawaii by watching the new Hawaii Five-O show. Anywhere I can learn something, I’ll use it. I don’t care if it’s overhearing a third-grader on the bus or reading an academic book. I don’t really draw distinctions like that for myself. I like David McCullough, and I like Glee.

But there’s a difference between liking Glee and choosing your sources for a book.
I suppose. But I’m an American writing about American civilization, and let’s face it, it’s not the most sophisticated civilization. Presenting a wide variety of teachers seems truer to American life.

Vowell reads Wednesday 6 at Unity Temple.