Although much has been written about early Chinese and Japanese laborers in Hawai'i, until now no comprehensive work has been published on first-generation Korean immigrants, the ilse. Making extensive use of primary source material from Korea, Japan, the continental U.S., and Hawai'i, the author weaves a compelling social history of the Korean experience in Hawai'i from 1903 to 1973 as seen primarily through the eyes of the ilse. Japanese surveillance records, student journals, and U.S. intelligence reports provide an "inner history" of the Korean community.