James A Michener Popular Books

James A Michener Biography & Facts

James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations, set in particular geographic locales and incorporating detailed history. Many of his works were bestsellers and were chosen by the Book of the Month Club. He was also known for the meticulous research that went into his books.Michener's books include Tales of the South Pacific, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948; Hawaii; The Drifters; Centennial; The Source; The Fires of Spring; Chesapeake; Caribbean; Caravans; Alaska; Texas; Space; Poland; and The Bridges at Toko-ri. His non-fiction works include Iberia, about his travels in Spain and Portugal; his memoir, The World Is My Home; and Sports in America. Return to Paradise combines fictional short stories with Michener's factual descriptions of the Pacific areas where they take place.His first book was adapted as the popular Broadway musical South Pacific, by Rodgers and Hammerstein, and later as eponymous feature films in 1958 and 2001, adding to his financial success. A number of his other stories and novels were adapted for films and TV series. He also wrote Presidential Lottery: The Reckless Gamble in Our Electoral System, in which he condemned the United States' Electoral College system. It was published in 1969, and republished in 2014 and 2016. Biography Michener was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He later wrote that he did not know who his biological parents were, or exactly when or where he was born. He was raised a Quaker by an adoptive mother, Mabel Michener, in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.Michener graduated from Doylestown High School in 1925. He attended Swarthmore College, in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, where he played basketball and was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After graduating summa cum laude in 1929, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and History, he traveled and studied in Scotland at the University of St Andrews in the medieval town of St. Andrews, Fife, on the coast of the North Sea for two years.Michener talks about hoboing (riding freight trains for free) during the Great Depression, as mentioned in the 1998 Great Depression documentary on the History Channel. Michener took a job as a high school English teacher at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. From 1933 to 1936, he taught English at George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania. He attended Colorado State Teachers College in Greeley, Colorado, (in 1970 renamed the University of Northern Colorado), where he earned a Master of Arts degree in education. After graduation, he taught at the university and at College High School (the University Lab School) for several years. The library at the University of Northern Colorado was named after him in October 1972.In 1935, Michener married Patti Koon. He accepted a Guest Lecturer position at Harvard University, from 1939 to 1940, but left to join Macmillan Publishers as their social studies education editor.Although as a Quaker, he could have qualified as a conscientious objector and not been drafted into the military, Michener enlisted in the United States Navy during World War II (1941–1945). He traveled throughout the South Pacific Ocean on various assignments which he gained because his base commanders mistakenly thought his father was Admiral Marc Mitscher. His experiences during these travels inspired the stories published in his breakout work Tales of the South Pacific. Writing career Michener began his writing career during World War II, when as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy he was assigned to the South Pacific as a naval historian. He later turned his notes and impressions into Tales of the South Pacific (1947), his first book, published when he was age 40. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1948, and Rodgers and Hammerstein adapted it as the hit Broadway musical South Pacific, which premiered on Broadway in New York City in 1949. The musical was also adapted as eponymous feature films in 1958 and 2001. In the late 1950s, Michener began working as a roving editor for the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. He gave up that work in 1970.Michener tried television writing but was unsuccessful. American television producer Bob Mann wanted Michener to co-create a weekly anthology series from Tales of the South Pacific and serve as narrator. Rodgers and Hammerstein, however, had bought all dramatic rights to the novel and did not relinquish their ownership. Michener did lend his name to a different television series, Adventures in Paradise, in 1959, starring Gardner McKay as Captain Adam Troy in the sailing ship Tiki III.Michener was a popular writer during his lifetime; his novels sold an estimated 75 million copies worldwide. His novel Hawaii (1959), well-timed on its publication when Hawaii became the 50th state, was based on extensive research. He used this approach for nearly all of his subsequent novels, which were based on detailed historical, cultural, and even geological research. Centennial (1974), which documented several generations of families in the Rocky Mountains of the American West, was adapted as a popular 12-part television miniseries of the same name and aired on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC television network) from October 1978 through February 1979.In 1996, State House Press published James A. Michener: A Bibliography, compiled by David A. Groseclose. Its more than 2,500 entries from 1923 to 1995 include magazine articles, forewords, and other works.Michener's prodigious output made for lengthy novels, several of which run more than 1,000 pages. The author states in My Lost Mexico (1992) that at times he would spend 12 to 15 hours per day at his typewriter for weeks on end, and that he used so much paper, his filing system had trouble keeping up. Marriages Michener was married three times. In 1935, he married Patti Koon. In 1948, they divorced, and the same year Michener married his second wife, Vange Nord.Michener met his third wife, Mari Yoriko Sabusawa, at a luncheon in Chicago. An American, she and her Japanese parents were interned in western camps that the U.S. government set up during the early years of World War II to hold ethnic Japanese from West Coast / Pacific communities. Michener divorced Nord in 1955 and married Sabusawa the same year. Sabusawa died in 1994.Michener's novel Sayonara (1954) is quasi-autobiographical. Set during the early 1950s, it tells the story of Major Lloyd Gruver, a United States Air Force ace jet pilot in the Korean War (1950–1953), now stationed in Japan, who falls in love with Hana-ogi, a Japanese woman. The novel follows their cross-cultural romance and illuminates the racism of the post-World War II time period. In 1957 it was adapted into the highly successful movie Sayonara which starred Marlon Brando, James Garner, Miiko Taka, Miyoshi Umeki and.... 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  • The Bridges at Toko-Ri synopsis, comments

    The Bridges at Toko-Ri

    James A. Michener & Steve Berry

    In one of his beloved early bestsellers, Pulitzer Prize–winning author James A. Michener crafts a tale of the American men who fought the Korean War, detailing their exploits in th...

  • Miracle in Seville synopsis, comments

    Miracle in Seville

    James A. Michener, Steve Berry & John Fulton

    James A. Michener, the Pulitzer Prize–winning master of the historical saga, returns to his beloved Spain with this magical novel of Seville at Easter time, a season of splendid pa...

  • On Glorious Wings synopsis, comments

    On Glorious Wings

    Stephen Coonts

    Since its invention in 1903, the airplane has become the dominant mode of transport, travel, and combat. It has brought the entire planet closer together and changed almost every ...

  • The Saints of Swallow Hill synopsis, comments

    The Saints of Swallow Hill

    Donna Everhart

    Where the Crawdads Sing meets The Four Winds as awardwinning author Donna Everhart's latest novel immerses readers in its unique settingthe turpentine camps and pine forests of the...

  • JAMES MICHENER - BEST READING ORDER synopsis, comments

    JAMES MICHENER - BEST READING ORDER

    Meridith Montague

    JAMES MICHENER SUMMARIES AND CHECKLIST ALL BOOKS AND SERIES: READING LIST, AND STORY SUMMARIES James Michener Books in Order with Summaries  JAMES MICHENER novels are ...

  • Classic Stories of World War II synopsis, comments

    Classic Stories of World War II

    Pyramid

    Classic Stories of World War II is a collection of fiction and nonfiction excerpts from the works of worldclass authors who lived through the conflict. Authentic and impassioned st...

  • Caribbean synopsis, comments

    Caribbean

    James A. Michener & Steve Berry

    In this acclaimed classic novel, James A. Michener sweeps readers off to the Caribbean, bringing to life the eternal allure and tumultuous history of this glittering string of isla...

  • The Source synopsis, comments

    The Source

    James A. Michener & Steve Berry

    In his signature style of grand storytelling, James A. Michener transports us back thousands of years to the Holy Land. Through the discoveries of modern archaeologists excavating ...

  • Hawaii synopsis, comments

    Hawaii

    James A. Michener & Steve Berry

    Pulitzer Prize–winning author James A. Michener brings Hawaii’s epic history vividly to life in a classic saga that has captivated readers since its initial publication in 1959. As...

  • Recessional synopsis, comments

    Recessional

    James A. Michener & Steve Berry

    In this remarkable novel, Pulitzer Prize–winning author James A. Michener draws on his unparalleled gift for storytelling, his deep understanding of American society, and his own l...

  • Alaska synopsis, comments

    Alaska

    James A. Michener & Steve Berry

    In this sweeping epic of the northernmost American frontier, James A. Michener guides us through Alaska’s fierce terrain and history, from the longforgotten past to the bustling pr...

  • The Watermen synopsis, comments

    The Watermen

    James A. Michener, John Moll & Steve Berry

    Showcasing the evocative artwork created by John Moll for this special edition, James A. Michener’s The Watermen is a unique tribute to the adventurous seafarers of the Chesapeake ...