Fall 2025

New Novel by Emeritus Prof. Chappell

Announcing a new book by David Chappell, UH Mānoa Emeritus Professor of History: BOTIWA: A Novel of African Resistance.

This work of fiction draws on Prof. Chappell’s long experience as a historian of both African and Pacific resistance movements.

“Set at the dawn of French colonial expansion in West Africa, BOTIWA vividly reimagines a hidden war for the soul of the Ivory Coast — a struggle fought not just with spears and rifles, but with spirit masks, ancestral alliances, and impossible choices.”

Drawing on deep research and lived experience, historian David Chappell brings to life a cast of unforgettable characters: Kwajo Boka, a proud Baulé dancer and reluctant rebel leader; Dibi, a gifted spiritual guide bound to the sacred Botiwa mask; Paul Dufond, a young French marine haunted by his father’s ruin and his own divided loyalties; and Samory Touré, the legendary Muslim warlord fighting for empire and survival.

As local chiefs weigh betrayal against resistance, ancient spirits are called from the deep forests to stand guard over a way of life threatened by European greed and guns. Some choose to fight. Some choose to collaborate. And others, caught between, must decide what they are willing to sacrifice — family, freedom, even the future — to protect what remains of their land and honor.”