Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement & Political Manipulation at America’s Largest Charitable Trust (Latitude 20 Books (Paperback))

Review

Almost certainly Hawaii's book of the year, a morality tale for each and every one of us. ― Spirit of AlohaWhile many other books of its kind pay marginal attention to character exposition, the players in Broken Trust jump off the page. . . . What makes Broken Trust so fascinating is that it works on multiple levels. It's a well researched book about Hawaii's history and culture; a dramatic story of judicial, political, and corporate corruption; and a cautionary tale for acting or future charitable trust board members on everything you shouldn't do if you want to respect your organization's mission and ensure the public's trust. -- Christopher Quay ― The Exempt Organization Tax Review, 52:3 (June 2006)Broken Trustis worth reading alone for its examination of changing understandings of Hawaiian persons and their place in an emerging American state through decisions about the shape of Hawaiian education, a penetrating cultural history of Hawai‘i's society. . . . [It] should be essential reading for anyone concerned about the legacy of the interdependence of Hawai‘i's educational, legislative, judicial and corporate institutions. King and Roth are at their best when laying out how trustees' constituting decisions once yielded lasting institutional tendencies, with unanticipated effects over subsequent generations. -- Alexander Mawyer ― Pacific Affairs, 79:3 (Fall 2006)

Review

The book is quite extraordinary. I'm amazed at the level of detail―both in terms of the information and [the authors’] willingness to share it given the politicized nature of the subject matter. I’m also astonished that, with so much factual information, the book is incredibly engaging. It reads like a story―with the figure of B.P. Bishop looming silently in the background―rather than a historical text. Perhaps most importantly, I appreciate the apparent balance represented in the work. My inclination is to be sympathetic to the plight of Native Hawaiians. Yet, whenever I began to think the book reflected a pro-Western bias, the pendulum would swing almost immediately in the other direction. Or, maybe, it's just that I began to see as I turned the pages, how the issues surrounding the Bishop Estate and Native Hawaiians are not black and white, but clouded with all sorts of complications and shades of gray. -- Professor Trina Jones, Duke University School of Law