The Inside Story of Hawaiʻi's War on COVID

Everyone would like to forget about COVID-19, put it behind us and get on with our lives. So why write a book about the pandemic in Hawai‘i? Authors Kirk Caldwell and Georgette Takushi Deemer believed that “it would be unfortunate for us as a community not to record what happened in Hawai‘i as COVID-19 reached our shores. It is important to write our history—to tell our stories, particularly when they revolve around significant and extraordinary times in our state, our country, and the world. We wanted to preserve a record of what happened and why.” In Our Beaches Were Empty, Our Hospitals Full: Leadership Stories from Hawai‘i’s Unique Pandemic Response, Caldwell and Deemer document a remarkable collaboration by top leaders in government, business, education and healthcare—told in their own words.

Kirk Caldwell and Georgette Takushi Deemer

Softcover, 320 pp.