Hawai'i Place Names: Shores, Beaches, and Surf Sites

I wanted to find the best spots around Hawaii for a surf trip I was planning for my son and I. I thought this book would give a good explanation of the surf spots. I was disappointed. It only is a list with descrption/ location of all the parks in Hawaii.

This is NOT the book Place Names of Hawaii by Mary Kawena Pukui, and others, which is the standard, acclaimed reference book on Hawaiian place names. It is frequently updated in new editions. THAT book has a brief notation of the story associated with the spot, its location, how it got it's name, alternate names, and other brief, relevant, information. Every little pu'u has a story.  Place Names of Hawaii (Revised) The book has a deceptive title. It also was published in 2001 based on interviews going back to 1972. How the University of Hawaii falls for publishing this stuff, I don't know. Money maker I guess.I would be suspicious of this book for any function, given the date of publication. Be aware that books by this author dating back to 1985 are still sold as current for purposes of finding "hidden" great snorkel spots etc. I can tell you from living here, that on the "Big Island" that book is so out of date as to be useless. Yet it is still sold to users on Amazon with a high rating (from 1999).So be VERY SURE most people are searching for the book by M K Pukui. If you search for that in Kindle books from your Kindle THIS comes up and I was so excited I purchased it and then realized it was not the book, and worse, it was written by Clark. I had to return it as an accidental purchase.Find a more up to date book on snorkel spots and surf breaks. The standard tour books have them. Or stop in at any dive shop once you are here and ask. They will tell you. Will it be a secret, no. There are no secrets. But they will direct you to the more off the beaten path places if you are up to getting to them. Just ASK. If they don't tell you, go to another dive shop. Look for blogs. Ask someone with a surf board, very humbly and give nice thanks. Look for cars parked along the road and see what gear they may have to distinguish a pretty beach, snorkel, surf, fish spot. Seriously, anything but out-of-date books. Find out if there are current alerts or warnings on winds, surf conditions etc. (NOAA) for your side of the island you are on.

I am very disappointed with this book. I wanted information about the place names, but what I got was nothing more than information about the places. I want meanings, background, and information about the names. The only reason I gave two stars rather than one is that the descriptions of what one finds at each of these places is interesting and may be useful to some people. The title of this book is quite misleading. Not recommended for anyone who actually wants to know about Hawaiian place names.