SubMariner,
We have always dived from boats on Maui, so I cannot help you with shore dives. We snorkeled at lots of places along the leeward coast, though, and the snorkling was great.
As for good u/w critter books, here are two and a half(?):
Hawaiin Reef Fish by Casey Mahaney--This book has lots of good photos of fish and a nice, but small section on invertebrates, If you can only get one book, this is a good one.
An Underwater Guide to Hawai'i by Ann Fielding and Ed Robinson--Robinson runs one of the premier dive boats on the island and his book has some of the best photographs. It has excellent sections on the geology of the islands, the origins of the fish life, and the fish life in general. If you are looking for a good book to read on the airplane ride over, this could be it. One downside, the index idents the flora and fauna by Latin names only...
Reef Fish of the Indo-Pacific by Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach--It comes in a small (read, very small) pocket version that is waterproof and very handy. The photos are, per force, small and there are no write-ups. If you want something very small, but with a lot of fish in it, this is the baby! And it can be carried in your BC--although the staples will rust in time.
Hope this helps....
Joewr
