In our continuing celebration of the launch of Honolulu On The Cheap, enter to win a copy of the book Concise History of the Hawaiian Islands by Phil Barnes.

A Concise History of the Hawaiian Islands covers the major events and personalities in Hawaiian history from the first human landfall through the sovereignty movement of the late 1990’s.

The history comes to life through illustrations and interesting anecdotes. By investing a couple of hours the casual reader can greatly increase the depth of their understanding of the events that have shaped and continue to shape these magical islands.

The book was generously donated to support our official site launch by the good people at Hilo’s Basically Books. What a great, great shop. It has long been a favorite of mine.

It’s a family-owned, independent bookstore located in historic downtown Hilo, facing beautiful Hilo Bay. It’s a must when you’re visiting Hilo. The address is 160 Kamehameha Avenue.

Basically Books specializes in Hawaiian books, and stock a wide selection of current Hawaiiana literature. Its selection includes history, fiction, travel guides, natural history, marine science, children’s books, and much more.

They also specialize in rare and out-of-print Hawaiian books—they may have that hard-to-find book that you’re looking for!

And they are the largest map dealership in Hilo and on the Big Island—in fact, it’s sometimes called “The Map Shop.”  In addition to all of this, they carry a large selection of Hawaiiana gifts, many of them made right here in the Islands.

This Saturday, March 14, they welcome O‘ahu writer Victoria Kneubuhl, who will be signing her mystery novel.

There are two ways to enter to win Concise History of the Hawaiian Islands (shipped to your USA home). One, simply add a comment to this post. Or two, post about Honolulu On The Cheap on your own blog, and send us a pingback (or comment here with a link to tell us). You’ll get one entry for each action. You can also earn ONE bonus point by subscribing to Honolulu On The Cheap via rss or email and ANOTHER by posting our buttons on your site. Complete contest details available here.

Entries must be received by midnight, Hawai‘i time on March 15, 2009.

Scroll down to win a beautiful photographic lava print by Macario, and a great Herb Ohta, Jr., CD, and don’t forget to visit our sister site, Big Island On The Cheap for more contests!