In the days when cane was king, the Big Island's Hamakua Coast was the scenic backdrop for tidy plantation towns, billowing fields and bustling sugar mills. Revisit this golden era in the rich anecdotes and rare photographs of this handy, site-by-site guide, the first Big Island volume in Watermark's Small Town Series. Here are 100 photos — historic churches, mom-and-pop stores, field workers, tsunami damage — many of them from private collections and each one keyed to a location on a foldout walking map. Foreword by Hawai´i State Representative Dwight Takamine.

This book may be purchased with a companion audio tour compact disc.  The CD, produced by Sumo Sound Productions of Hilo, guides travelers in both directions along the coast, with stops at various points of interest. The CD is narrated by East Hawai‘i residents G-Cruz, Derek Kurisu, Pohai Montague Mullins, Charmaine Kaipo and Ron Kaipo and includes music by Braddah Smitty, Ron Kaipo and Alan Parker