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at Windward Community College

2005-2006

Ka'a'awa

Bushnell's Writing and Life

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O. A. (Ozzie) Bushnell was born in Honolulu in 1913. A graduate of  St. Louis High School and UH Manoa, he received  Ph.D. in  Bacteriology (now called Microbiology) from the University of  Wisconsin at Madison. While a professor of Microbiology at the  University of Hawai‘i, Bushnell began to write novels.

The Return of  Lono, on Captain Cook’s fateful stay at the islands, was first  published in 1956. Four more novels followed: Molokai (1963),  Ka‘a‘awa (1972), The Stone of Kannon (1979), and The Water of Kane  (1980). In 1974, Bushnell was awarded the Hawai‘i Literary Arts  Council Award for Literature, and in 1997 he was inducted into the  Hawai‘i Book Publishing Hall of Fame.

In addition to his fiction, Bushnell published many scientific and  historical works, including scientific articles, a biography of  Mother Marianne of Molokai, The Gifts of Civilization, which was his  last book, and an introduction to Esther Mookini’s translation of G.  P. Judd’s Anatomia 1838, which was his last published work.

 

Books by O. A. Bushnell

The Gifts of Civilization : Germs and Genocide in Hawai'i. Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, 1993. Also available through eBooks.

Hawaii: a Pictorial History. Honolulu, Bishop Museum Press, 1969. Compiled and designed by Joseph Feher. Accompanying text by Edward Joesting for part one, by O. A. Bushnell for part two.

Illustrated Atlas of Hawaii. Island Heritage, 1996, c1970. Edited by O.A. Bushnell ; text by Gavan Daws, O.A. Bushnell, and Andrew Berger. Illustrated by Joseph Feher.

Ka'a'awa; a Novel about Hawaii in the 1850s. University Press of Hawaii for Friends of the Library of Hawaii, 1972. Note: Popular Library edition published in 1973 under title: Valley of Love and Delight by Popular Library.

The Last Days of Captain Cook. London, Chatto & Windus, 1957. Note: First edition published in 1956 under title: The Return of Lono.

Molokai. Honolulu : University Press of Hawaii, 1975, c1963. Translated into German in 1964.

A Mystery for Captain Cook. Philip Harmon [pseud.] Never published. Formed the basis of the author's The return of Lono.

Pilgrimage and Exile: Mother Marianne of Molokai. with Sister Mary Laurence Hanley, O.S.F. Chicago, Ill. : Franciscan Herald Press, 1981. Reprinted by the University of Hawaii Press in 1992.

The Return of Lono: a Novel of Captain Cook's Last Voyage. Boston, Little, Brown [1956]. Published as Peril in Paradise by Ace Books in 1956. Translated into Norwegian (?) in 1956. Reprinted by UH Press in 1971.

The Stone of Kannon. Honolulu : Published for the Friends of the Library of Hawaii by the University Press of Hawaii, 1979. Sequel: The water of Kane.

A Walk Through Old Honolulu: an Illustrated Guide. with photos by Dana Levy. Honolulu : Kapa Associates, 1975.

The Water of Kane. Honolulu : Published for the Friends of the Library of Hawaii by the University Press of Hawaii, 1980. Sequel to The Stone of Kannon. Reprinted in 1999 by Mutual Publishers.

Articles by O. A. Bushnell

"Aftermath: Britons' responses to news of the death of Captain James Cook" Hawaiian Journal of History. 1991 v 25.

"Anatomia 1838 Introduction" by G. P. Judd, translated by Esther T Mookini. University of Hawaii Press, 2003.

"The antibacterial properties of some plants found in Hawaii." O.A. Bushnell, Mitsuno Fukuda, and Takashi Makinodan. Pacific Science, v.4, no.3, p.167-183, July 1950.

"The Antiquarians." Hawaii Medical Journal. NOV 01 1995 v 54 n 11. (view pdf)

"Discovering Captain Cook." Hawaii Observer. JUN 10 1975 n 58, page 10.

"Discovering Captain Cook." Hawaii Observer MAR 24 1977 n 100, page 24.

"Dr. Edward Arning, the first microbiologist in Hawaii." Hawaiian Journal of History. 1967 v 1 , page 3.

"Hawaii and its Gods Forward." by Charles Gallagher and Dana Levy. Weatherhill/Kapa, New York, 1975.

"Hawaii's first medical school." Hawaii Historical Review. OCT 01 1967 v 2 n 9, page 396.

"Hygiene and sanitation among the ancient Hawaiians." Hawaii Historical Review. OCT 01 1966 v 2 n 5, page 316.

"Much ado about little things: microscopes and microscopists." Hawaiian Journal of History. 1969 v 3, page 110.

"The United States leprosy investigation station at Kalawao." Hawaiian Journal of History. 1968 v 2, page 76.

"Vital echoes." Hawaii Observer. MAR 19 1974 n 28, page 11.

Articles about O. A. Bushnell and his writings

Dye, Rob. "The Gifts of Civilization: Germs and Genocide in Hawai'i." Manoa : a Pacific Journal of International Writing. Summer 1994, v 6 n 1.

Gima, Craig. "Writer Bushnell's Work Brought Ordinary Islanders to Life." Star-Bulletin, August 24 2002. Available on the web.

Hanley, Sister Mary Laurence. "(O.A.) Bushnell led Cause for Nun's Sainthood." Honolulu Star-Bulletin, September 15 2002, page D4. Available on the web.

Horton, Karen. "Ozzy Bushnell." Honolulu. August 1 1979, v 14 n 2, page 93. (may also be in v 14, n 2)

Imada, Sanae. "He's in Love With Things Japanese." Hawaii Herald. June 6 1980 v 1 n 2, page 6.

Iwasa, Warren. "Old Buildings and Bushnell." Hawaii Observer. December 9 1975 n 70 , page 9.

Leidemann, Mike and Wanda Adams. "O.A. Bushnell, Writer of Hawai'i Dies." August 24, 2002. Available the web.

Leidemann, Mike and Wanda Adams. "Historian-novelist Ozzie Bushnell dies at 89." August 23 2002. Available the web.

Wong, Kaupena. "A Lament for Ozzie (Bushnell) in 3 Languages." Honolulu Advertiser, September 4 2002, page A19.

"Hawaiian Historical Society to Honor 13 Historians at Reception." Honolulu Advertiser, May 6 1992, page D2

"Mother Marianne book reissued." Wai ola o OHA. April 01 1992 v 9 n 4

"The Gifts of Civilization; Germs and Genocide in Hawaii, by O. A. Bushnell Explores Scourge of Diseases." Honolulu Advertiser, April 18 1993, page B4

"The Gifts of Civilization by O. A. Bushnell is his Magnum Opus, at Last." Honolulu Advertiser, June 13 1993, page D7.

"Diseased and Dispossessed: O. A. Bushnell Discusses The Gifts of Civilization." Honolulu Advertiser, June 13 1993, page D7.

"Two Local Tomes on Agenda for Book Club; (O. A.) Bushnell's Tales Blend History, Fine Writing." Honolulu Advertiser, August 3 2003, page D1.

Chronology of O. A. Bushnell's life
1913 Born in Honolulu, May 11
1919 - 1926 Attended Ka'ahumanu School
1926 - 1930 Attended St. Louis High School, Honolulu
1930 - 1934 Attended University of Hawai'i at Manoa, received BS in 1934
1934 - 1937 Attended University of Wisconsin at Madison, recieved MS in 1935 and PhD in 1937 in Bacteriology. Dissertation was on the role of bacteria in fixation of nitrogen in legumes.
1935 Met his future wife, Elizabeth Kraustkopf. They were both lab assistants at Agriculture Hall at the University of Wisconsin.
1937 - 1939 Worked in Washington, D.C. as an Assistant Curator, American Type Culture Collection
1938 - 1940 Instructor of Bacteriology, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C.
1940 Returned to Hawai'i to work for Territorial Board of Health (on Kaua'i and Maui). He was on Maui at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack.
1941 Joined the Army, active duty, 2nd Lieutenant to Captain, Sanitary Corps. Service in Hawai'i
1943 Married Elizabeth Krauskopf in Honolulu, Hawai'i
1944 Birth of first child, Andrew Bushnell
1945 Sailed with the "Occupation Force" to Okinawa and Japan to establish hospitals at the end of the war.
1947 Birth of second child, Philip Bushnell
1948 - 1950 Assistant Professor at University of Hawai'i, Department of Bacteriology
1950 - 1957 Associate Professor at the University of Hawai'i, Department of Bacteriology
1956 Publication of first book - The Return of Lono
1957 - 1970 Professor at the University of Hawai'i, Department of Bacteriology, later renamed Department of Microbiology. Later, professor of Medical Microbiology at the School of Medicine, University of Hawai'i.
1959 Bird of third child, Victoria Bushnell
1963 Published Molokai
1969 Published Hawaii: A Pictorial History with Joseph Feher and Edward Joesting
1970 Published An Illustrated Atlas of the Hawaiian Islands
1972 Published Ka'a'awa
1972 - 1973 Spent a year in Japan working as editor for the John Wetherhill Press.
1974 Received the first Hawaii Literary Arts Council Award for Literature
1975 Published A Walk Through Old Honolulu: an Illustrated Guide. with photos by Dana Levy
1979 Published The Stone of Kannon
1980 Published The Water of Kane
1981 Published Pilgrimage and Exile: Mother Marianne of Molokai. with Sister Mary Laurence Hanley, O.S.F.
1983 Travelled to Rome to be present when the biography of Mother Marianne was presented to Pope John-Paul II
1993 Published last book, The Gifts of Civilization
1996 Received University of Hawai'i Alumni Association Fonders Lifetime Acheivement Award
1997 Inducted into the Hawaii Book Publishing Hall of Fame, awarded The John Dominis Holt Award (read the Honolulu Star-Bulletin story).
August 21, 2002

Died, age 89
Pau ka 'oe hana, pio ka 'oe ahi, pala ka 'oe 'ahui
 Your work is done, your fire extinguished, your [banana] bunch has ripened)

Primary information from Betty Bushnell and other sources

Email commonbk@hawaii.edu if you would like to add any comments.

This page last updated March 7, 2006