It's not often that what everyday people say is accepted as so-called historical truth. But oral histories of people integral to 20th-century Hawaii culture represent a past way of life that resonates today. That's what the 30 narratives included in "Talking Hawaii's Story" capture, revealing experiences, values and feelings of men and women born between 1900 and 1930 that in turn illuminate not only their lives, but their parents' and grandparents', and through that lens, prominent events in territorial and state history.

The entries were culled from nearly 70 oral histories previously published in the University of Hawaii Center for Oral History newsletter, though the editors regrettably don't explain criteria for inclusion or add substantial information about some original interviews.

Each narrative begins with a brief and helpful contextual biography, paired with personal photos, and is arranged alphabetically. It's remarkable, then, that apart from some expected repetition about plantation life, the collection has a natural flow and innate variety that provides easy momentum. Though the subject matter occurred in the last century, these kinds of personal details centered on everyday routines like chores, school and work are seldom recorded in print, and thus feel original and rare.

Together, the rich narratives present an interconnected patchwork of values and themes such as hard work and independence, as evidenced by Robert Kahele's belief that "raising taro is one way of expressing my freedom." They offer a wide swath of perspectives from neighborhoods throughout the Islands, and diversity in ages, jobs, ethnicity and experiences, such as those of Abigail Burgess and Lillian Cameron, sisters who sold flower and seed lei at their father's airport stand, which they called "an honest way to make a living by using your own hands."

The bombing of Pearl Harbor and resulting internment is a cynosure of many lives, as is immigration, plantation labor, sugar, pineapple and tourism. The texture of life in Hawaii can be witnessed through these intimate experiences.

Martina Kekuewa Fuentevilla captivatingly describes her birth in a pili grass house, upbringing as the hänai daughter of her grandparents, and life in Kona, from pounding poi to sneaking drinks of sweet potato liquor. Ernest Golden relates seldom-discussed details of what it was like to be an African American in Hawaii after the war. Alice Saito Gouveia's touching tale of carving out success as owner of Maui's Economy Store underscores the perseverance of Hawaii's entrepreneurial spirit. And Lemon "Rusty" Holt, a member of the Waikiki Stonewall Gang whose father was a member of Queen Liliuokalani's mounted patrolmen, whose grandmother was close friends with the queen and knew just what type of coconut she liked, who himself regularly surfed with Prince Kuhio, is one of the collection's vibrant, kolohe voices.

Many of the people here have since passed, but "Talking Hawaii's Story" preserves their life portraits and wisdom. It also resurrects past lessons that remain relevant today, not least of which is what Moses W. "Moke" Kealoha's parents smartly reminded him: "We were wealthy because Hawaii had everything we needed and more."