The Blue Book Controversy

Cover via Amazon

When planning trips to Hawaii, I used the popular reveal book series for additional information about the islands. The series of books are often referred to as blue bibles. There's a separate book for the islands Oahu, Big Island, Maui, and Kauai.

The books are popular with tourists because they contain useful information about Hawaii's accomodations, activities, restaurants, beaches, history, geography, and more. There are numerous colorful pictures and large maps to enhance the trip planning process. Nonetheless, the books have been criticized by residents of the islands. Some island book stores refuse to sell the books and tourists with the book are viewed negatively by some locals.

It has been argued that the revealed books encourage trespassing onto private property and disclose previously unknown secluded and hard to find places on the island. Some of the locations revealed in the books are dangerous areas that should be avoided by most tourists, but the books entice people to visit the areas by having information about them. Also, the increased traffic to the more remote areas of the islands threaten the overall beauty of the environment.

Well, I don't believe that a book should necessarily be blamed for the actions of people. I never trespassed or hiked to remote areas after reading the books. Unfortunately, the same people who don't use common sense after reading the books are the same ones who would get themselves into trouble even if the books had never been written. Afterall, if there's a "private property" or "no trespassing" sign, then it's best to leave regardless of what a book says. Also, all of the revealed books include warnings about potential hazards that should not be ignored by tourists.

In general, the revealed books include a wealth of knowledge about the Hawaiian islands and can be very useful in planning a visit to them. However, tourists should exercise care and common sense when traveling to an unfamiliar area regardless of what's in a book.