Hawaii has been referred to as the crossroads of the Pacific. This book illustrates how many world cultures and customs meet in the Hawaiian Islands, providing a chronological overview highlighted by extracts from important works that express Hawaii's unique history. This work starts with chronological chapters on general and ancient Hawaiian history and continues through early Western contact, the 19th century, and Hawaii's annexation to the United States. Topics include politics, religion, social issues, business, ethnic groups, and race relations.

Every stamp and piece of mail tells a story. In fact, each often tells multiple stories, ranging from concept to art design to production to usage, often with tales of politics, history, technology, biography, genealogy, economics, geography, disaster, and triumph. The lens of philately offers a fresh and engaging story of American history, culture, and identity, and it can also help deepen the understanding of world cultures. The William H. Gross Stamp Gallery, opened at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in September 2013, has many such stories to tell. Chief philately curator Cheryl R. Ganz guides readers through some of the gallery's nearly 20,000 objects that together illustrate the history of our nation's postal operations and postage stamps.

"How ancient Polynesian explorers found the Hawaiian Islands, the most remote in Earth's largest sea; how they navigated, how they viewed themselves and their universe, and the arts, crafts, and values by which they survived and prospered without metals or the fuels and inventions believed necessary for life today." -- Amazon.com viewed August 7, 2020.