Discusses the history of the traditional Hawaiian necklaces made of seashells and explains how the necklaces are made.
[In this] definitive book... [written] in a manner beautifully analogous to her subject, [Moriarty] intertwines multiple strands of narrative, from the social and cultural history in which the use of shells for adornment and currency is embedded, through popular lore of pre- and post-war Hawaiian history, to the technical aspects of making a shell lei, and its subsequent care and handling.
