It’s not often that a single person’s life can reveal the dramatic social and political shifts of a community. From his youth, John Papa I’i, an important statesman and author, played a pivotal role in shaping and supporting the 19th century Kingdom of Hawai’i In Facing the Spears of Change: The Life and Legacy of John Papa I’i (University Of Hawai’i Press, 2016), Marie Alohalani Brown, Assistant Professor of Religion at University of Hawai’i at Manoa, carefully traces the contours of his biography with nuance and beauty. The book is rich with detail and one of the few histories to put the vast corpus of Hawaiian language sources to use in understanding the island’s past. John Papa I’i’s life also serves as a rewarding vantage point for thinking about Hawaiian religion during the early years of the Kingdom of Hawai’i, and the expanding influence of Christianity. In our conversation we discussed genres of life writing, challenges of reframing Hawaiian modes of thinking into western academic categories, Christian conversion, John Papa I’i’s s upbringing, the importance of family genealogy, the Laplace affair, King Kamehameha and his descendants, Hawaiian language sources, elder years and productive retirement, and John Papa I’i’s importance for Hawaiians today.

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