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Broken Trust
King, Samuel P. and Randall W. Roth. Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement, and Political Manipulation at America's Largest Charitable Trust. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press (2840 Kolowalu St., Honolulu, HI 96822), 2006. xi, 324p. ISBN 0-8248-3044-x (pa), $16.00. Index. Illus (b&w). Acid-Free Paper.
Samuel P. King and Randall W. Roth's Broken Trust chronicles over 100 years of Hawaiian history, from the early life of Princess Pauahi to the present day situation of her Bishop Estate -- the largest charitable trust in the nation. Beginning chapters offer a context in which to apply the terms of Pauahi's will; her vision of educating Hawaiian youths is remarkable in its foresight and love, and yet demands arose over the years that Pauahi could not have predicted. It is in this period of political and cultural upheaval that the authors set their sights for the remainder of the book.
Authors Roth and King, with a team of three others, co-wrote the essay "Broken Trust," published by the Honolulu Star Bulletin in the summer of 1997. The essay documented the misdealings of Bishop Estate trustees -- whose appointments were increasingly political, whose professional motives were highly suspect, and whose behavior was quickly driving a wedge through the Kamehameha and Hawaiian community at large. Roth, a respected University of Hawaii Law professor who also served as Governor Lingle's senior policy adviser, and King, an appointed U.S. District Court judge, together held the credentials and the connections to carry out a thorough investigation of the Bishop Estate. Law professors from such institutions as University of California at Berkeley School of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law, and Stanford Law School laud the book and the authors' efforts.
The authors make no pretenses nor apologies as to where their sympathies lie; organizations and individual leaders of the Hawaiian community are given depth and respect, while those shown to be abusers of the Bishop Estate trust, its trustees and deep pockets of local government, judiciary, and business, are judged by their indiscretions. In the making of the book, hundreds of people were interviewed, some procuring major documents and personal essays. Maintaining an unbiased tone, however, was never the intent of the authors, due to their own involvement in the Bishop Estate trust scandal, and in consideration of the spirit of the materials gathered. The heartfelt nature of the book depends on its impassionate and intimately shared views on the events as they unfolded during the late 1990s.
The book leaves much to be answered, as the controversy surrounding Bishop Estate pushes on, but closing with Princess Pauahi's will seems fitting. Included is The Charitable Trust Provisions of Princess Pauahi's Will and Two Codicils in its entirety, with no commentary -- which also seems fitting. With much of the text written characterizing motives in broad strokes, an open ending allows the reader a sense of space to determine her own opinions of events past, present, and yet to come.
In light of how far the hold of Bishop Estate stretched in places of power, there is little published on the corrupt practices of its trustees. The Honolulu Advertiser refused to print the inital essay "Broken Trust," and the Honolulu Star Bulletin took a tremendous leap of faith in doing so. Broken Trust is in many ways as groundbreaking as the essay from which the book took its form, and hence essential to any comprehensive Pacific collection. The University of Hawaii Press, which published Broken Trust, prides itself on quality of construction as well as content, which is apparent in the good binding, reasonable price, and durability of its paper. College students and general readers interested in Hawaiian History would appreciate this book, however, a familiarity with political science is recommended, as the authors briskly move through legalese. Broken Trust is a work uniquely of and about Hawaii politics, but which is able to transcend location in highlighting human conditions: of greed and malice, but also of virtue and inner strength.
Samuel P. King and Randall W. Roth's Broken Trust chronicles over 100 years of Hawaiian history, from the early life of Princess Pauahi to the present day situation of her Bishop Estate -- the largest charitable trust in the nation. Beginning chapters offer a context in which to apply the terms of Pauahi's will; her vision of educating Hawaiian youths is remarkable in its foresight and love, and yet demands arose over the years that Pauahi could not have predicted. It is in this period of political and cultural upheaval that the authors set their sights for the remainder of the book.
Authors Roth and King, with a team of three others, co-wrote the essay "Broken Trust," published by the Honolulu Star Bulletin in the summer of 1997. The essay documented the misdealings of Bishop Estate trustees -- whose appointments were increasingly political, whose professional motives were highly suspect, and whose behavior was quickly driving a wedge through the Kamehameha and Hawaiian community at large. Roth, a respected University of Hawaii Law professor who also served as Governor Lingle's senior policy adviser, and King, an appointed U.S. District Court judge, together held the credentials and the connections to carry out a thorough investigation of the Bishop Estate. Law professors from such institutions as University of California at Berkeley School of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law, and Stanford Law School laud the book and the authors' efforts.
The authors make no pretenses nor apologies as to where their sympathies lie; organizations and individual leaders of the Hawaiian community are given depth and respect, while those shown to be abusers of the Bishop Estate trust, its trustees and deep pockets of local government, judiciary, and business, are judged by their indiscretions. In the making of the book, hundreds of people were interviewed, some procuring major documents and personal essays. Maintaining an unbiased tone, however, was never the intent of the authors, due to their own involvement in the Bishop Estate trust scandal, and in consideration of the spirit of the materials gathered. The heartfelt nature of the book depends on its impassionate and intimately shared views on the events as they unfolded during the late 1990s.
The book leaves much to be answered, as the controversy surrounding Bishop Estate pushes on, but closing with Princess Pauahi's will seems fitting. Included is The Charitable Trust Provisions of Princess Pauahi's Will and Two Codicils in its entirety, with no commentary -- which also seems fitting. With much of the text written characterizing motives in broad strokes, an open ending allows the reader a sense of space to determine her own opinions of events past, present, and yet to come.
In light of how far the hold of Bishop Estate stretched in places of power, there is little published on the corrupt practices of its trustees. The Honolulu Advertiser refused to print the inital essay "Broken Trust," and the Honolulu Star Bulletin took a tremendous leap of faith in doing so. Broken Trust is in many ways as groundbreaking as the essay from which the book took its form, and hence essential to any comprehensive Pacific collection. The University of Hawaii Press, which published Broken Trust, prides itself on quality of construction as well as content, which is apparent in the good binding, reasonable price, and durability of its paper. College students and general readers interested in Hawaiian History would appreciate this book, however, a familiarity with political science is recommended, as the authors briskly move through legalese. Broken Trust is a work uniquely of and about Hawaii politics, but which is able to transcend location in highlighting human conditions: of greed and malice, but also of virtue and inner strength.
Submitted in April 2007 by Emma Panui, LIS Student, University of Hawaii at Manoa
The Broken Trust is an enlightening and comprehensive overview of the Bishop Estate’s history. It begins with the story of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop and it shares the love for her people and the land. With this as a backdrop, the book brings you from the times of the Ali’i, to the modern day affairs of the trust. Through the passage of time the estate became incredibly large through the massive amounts of land that made the estate what it is today. You can see how the trustees were selected by the courts and the large land deals made which seem to be the beginnings of the problems that arose in the mid-1990’s.
Randell W. Roth was in the forefront of the “Broken Trust Essay” which started the investigations, criticism and mayhem in August of 1997. Roth is a professor of law at the University of Hawaii with special interests in taxation and estate law. In the mid-1990’s Roth became concerned about some serious breaches dealing with the trust which included excessive compensations and an inadequate pursuit of the trust’s charitable mission. He began an investigation. Roth put together a draft of his findings and asked Samuel King, who was a federal judge at the time, to critique his findings for him. This was the beginning of the first “Broken Trust Essay.” Three more people were added to help co-author the essay before it was published on August 7, 1997 in the Honolulu Star- Bulletin.
To say the least, the essay caused a great deal of controversy which sparked several investigations. Then in November 27, 1997 “ Broken Trust II” was published which dealt with concerns about Lokelani Lindsey being appointed as “lead trustee” for education. This essay was not authored by the same group of people. Only one author Gladys Brandt, was the same on both essays. The book continues with the consequences and aftermath of this second essay and brings you through several other issues which have come up around Kamehameha Schools and Bishop Estates Trust in the last few years.
Not being of Hawaiian blood or an expert on Hawaiian affairs but after living through this controversial time in Hawaii, I feel that every Hawaiian collection should have a copy of this book. You need to have the context that this book creates in order to understand and appreciate Hawaii in the twentieth century. This is a must read book!! A good companion book would be The Lost Generation: A Boy, a School, a Princess written by J. Arthuer Rath ( A Latitude 20 Book) (pb) $20.00. This book is based on the personal experiences of a young boy who finds Kamehameha School at a difficult time in his life, how it saved his life and made him a better person. It also talks about the effect that the Bishop Estate Scandal had on him. This story is shared with the reader on a personal level rather than a factual basis.
Reviewed by Janet A. Terry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, LIS student, April 2006
The Broken Trust is an enlightening and comprehensive overview of the Bishop Estate’s history. It begins with the story of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop and it shares the love for her people and the land. With this as a backdrop, the book brings you from the times of the Ali’i, to the modern day affairs of the trust. Through the passage of time the estate became incredibly large through the massive amounts of land that made the estate what it is today. You can see how the trustees were selected by the courts and the large land deals made which seem to be the beginnings of the problems that arose in the mid-1990’s.
Randell W. Roth was in the forefront of the “Broken Trust Essay” which started the investigations, criticism and mayhem in August of 1997. Roth is a professor of law at the University of Hawaii with special interests in taxation and estate law. In the mid-1990’s Roth became concerned about some serious breaches dealing with the trust which included excessive compensations and an inadequate pursuit of the trust’s charitable mission. He began an investigation. Roth put together a draft of his findings and asked Samuel King, who was a federal judge at the time, to critique his findings for him. This was the beginning of the first “Broken Trust Essay.” Three more people were added to help co-author the essay before it was published on August 7, 1997 in the Honolulu Star- Bulletin.
To say the least, the essay caused a great deal of controversy which sparked several investigations. Then in November 27, 1997 “ Broken Trust II” was published which dealt with concerns about Lokelani Lindsey being appointed as “lead trustee” for education. This essay was not authored by the same group of people. Only one author Gladys Brandt, was the same on both essays. The book continues with the consequences and aftermath of this second essay and brings you through several other issues which have come up around Kamehameha Schools and Bishop Estates Trust in the last few years.
Not being of Hawaiian blood or an expert on Hawaiian affairs but after living through this controversial time in Hawaii, I feel that every Hawaiian collection should have a copy of this book. You need to have the context that this book creates in order to understand and appreciate Hawaii in the twentieth century. This is a must read book!! A good companion book would be The Lost Generation: A Boy, a School, a Princess written by J. Arthuer Rath ( A Latitude 20 Book) (pb) $20.00. This book is based on the personal experiences of a young boy who finds Kamehameha School at a difficult time in his life, how it saved his life and made him a better person. It also talks about the effect that the Bishop Estate Scandal had on him. This story is shared with the reader on a personal level rather than a factual basis.
Broken Trust is a book that was written by two people who have a passion for the Hawaiian people and the truth. They researched and experienced the people and emotions that surrounded the Broken Trust. They wanted to share this with the people of Hawaii today. This book needed to be written to share the facts about the controversy. I feel the people of Hawaii wanted to know what really happened and why. This book was greeted with open arms due to it’s open and refreshing view of these troubled times You can see through the thoughtful pictures and cartoons selected throughout the book. You can see the extra care that was taken to make the book special by the complete and comprehensive indexes, as well as, the acknowledgments, forwards, introductions and afterwards. The book was bound and priced affordably so that all people of Hawaii could read it and understand this controversial time of our history.
Reviewed by Janet A. Terry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, LIS student, April 2006
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