What are you reading?

I just finished reading "The Wild Trees" by Richard Preston. It is a story about young, modern-day explorers who climb hundreds of feet into the upper canopy of giant redwoods. ... Another book I enjoyed recently is "Clare: The Honolulu Years" by the late David Eyre. It is a revealing account of the life of Clare Boothe Luce during her years in Honolulu and the people she associated with here in the '70s and '80s, some of whom I knew. ...

How did you discover them?

My boss, Chatt Wright, president of HPU and chairman of the Oceanic Institute board, gave me a copy of "The Wild Trees" after one of his trips to the Mainland. ... [Eyre's] is not a book I would have normally picked up and read. It was selected by Cobey Black, a wonderful writer and a business partner of Clare's, and a fellow member of a book club we fondly call the Damon Reading Group. ...

What do you like about Preston's book?

I think the description of their lifestyle as they devote their lives to exploring these forests, and the sacrifices they made to pursue that lifestyle was intriguing. ... The author was also wrapped up in this and he wrote about it very well. It wasn't just an academic exercise for him. ...

Do their explorations inspire new ideas for healing marine life, like your innovative shrimp-breeding program?

I think it's invigorating to read about people who are so passionate about what they do. ... And marine science is full of frontiers like this, too. The oceans are still largely a mystery to us. And whether you climb trees or probe the depths of the ocean, there are wonderful opportunities for people to learn about the world we live in.