Both historians based in Vancouver, Barman has written about British Columbia, and Watson about the northwest fur trade. Their specialties converge here in a study of Hawaiians who went to the region during the century before the islands became incorporated into the US. Augmenting scanty records with interviews of descendants, they tell of those who went out of curiosity, were recruited as seaman, hired onto the fur trade, went seeking a better life, went for a time then left, and settled to stay. In addition to the overall story, they offer biographical sketches of 850 they could identify. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)