Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell

I thought Sarah Vowell a bit too wordy in her last book, 'Wordy Shipmates'.
In 'Unfamiliar Fishes', where she turns her witty attention to the annexation of Hawaii, she is less didactic and a little bit less funny than in previous works.
I picked this book up because Sarah Vowell wrote it. Her writing is factual, detailed, and not infrequently laugh-out-loud hilarious. She meanders through history, at times wandering far from the subject at hand, but always managing to keep these diversions to task and shockingly relevant.
Vowell leaves no doubt that we have nothing to be proud about our annexation of Hawaii--not that the native chiefs were such great stewards of th eland, mind you, but this is yet another strong armed takeover of a kingdom who's history is rich and deep, which we chose to not just ignore, but toss away without thinking. The recent legislation leading to a path for native Hawaiians to once again become stewards of someof their land is too little too late. Vowell teaches without making it hard work to follow--she doles out an excellent dose of history, wit, and a host of information you never knew you didn't know.