Chapter 1, From the Boundless Deep Summary

Hawaii, by James Michener, is a historical novel about the Pacific and the Hawaiian Islands. It begins with the islands' formation from volcanic activity and then describes the history of the people, the original Polynesians. The book describes the missionaries who brought religion to the people and discusses the intermarriages with the Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos. It tells their story—how they struggled, who their kings and queens were, and how they existed.

"Millions upon millions of years ago, when the continents were already formed and the principal features of the earth had been decided, there existed, then as now, one aspect of the world that dwarfed all others. It was a mighty ocean, resting uneasily to the east of the largest continent, a restless ever-changing, gigantic body of water that would later be...