Broken Trust: The Book

[mel]

Samuel P. King and Randall W. Roth just released their new book "Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement & Political Manipulation at America's Largest Charitable Trust" this weekend. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin is running a series of stories this week featuring excerpts from the book.

http://starbulletin.com/2006/02/26/news/story02.html

There is also a new website about the book at this URL:

http://www.brokentrustbook.com

As most people know, the "Broken Trust" stories and essays that ran a few years ago in the Star-Bulletin more than likely help lead to the downfall of the then Bishop Estate Trustees... Lokelani Lindsey, Henry Peters, Dickie Wong, Gerard Jervis and Oz Stender. There is a small sidebar on the Star-Bulletin site noting where these people are today.

I am sure this book will be interesting reading.

[buzz1941]

The back story of how the essay eventually appeared in print isn't really covered by the book. Basically, Gannett Advertiser editor Jim Gatti completely misunderstood the essay's relevance to Hawaii and sat on it, trying to figure out how to give the Advertiser credit for the essayists' work. He didn't understand that it wasn't the content of the essay, it was who wrote it that mattered. So, basically, it was fundamental hubris on the Gannett editors' part of what is important in Hawaii. What good work was performed by Jerry Burris whipping it into shape was for naught.
When it was taken to the Star-Bulletin, the folks there immediately understood the essay's importance, and slotted it in the next available paper. Star-Bulletin assistant editorial page editor Mary Poole scrapped several days' work and prepared the essay for publication, accomplishing more in six hours than the Advertiser had done in six weeks. It was Poole who coined the title "Broken Trust."