James Michener

(February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Tales of the South Pacific (for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948), an American author of more than 40 titles, the majority of which were sweeping sagas, covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating historical facts into the stories. Michener was known for the meticulous research behind his work.

Over his lifetime, he published more than four dozen books, including the texts for five art books. His work has been issued in virtually every language in the world, with hardcover and paperback sales running into the millions.

Most of Michener’s works are historical novels, all distinguished by the thorough research which is his hallmark. Among these are: The Bridges at Toko-Ri, Sayonara, The Source, Centennial, Chesapeake, The Covenant, Space, Poland, Texas and Alaska.

His nonfiction works include the 1968 Iberia about his travels in Spain and Portugal, his 1992 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.

One day, not long ago, life suddenly seemed too much of a burden…
James A. Michener thought it was time to die. “For the first time, I could understand how a person could say ‘the hell with it,’” says Michener, too strong willed to considered such a notion in the past.

James Michener was married for 39 years to Mari Yoriko Sabusawa, a second-generation Japanese American, who died in 1994. In his last years, Mr. Michener was based at the University of Texas in Austin, where he died on October 16, 1997, at age 90.

Books by James A. Michener

“Like all educated Afghans, Shah Khan looked to France as the source of culture, to Germany as the source of military instruction, to America as the source of canned goods, and to England as the fountainhead of duplicity. ”

In this romantic adventure of wild Afghanistan, master storyteller James Michener mixes the allure of the past with the dangers of today. After an impetuous American girl, Ellen Jasper, marries a young Afghan engineer, her parents hear no word from her. Although she wants freedom to do as she wishes, not even she is sure what that means. In the meantime, she is as good as lost in that wild land, perhaps forever….

“An extraordinary novel….Brilliant.” – The New York Times

“Don’t be fooled by the “Harlequin Romance”-looking cover art. Caravans is a ripping good adventure/travelogue/history lesson, with some romance thrown in for good measure.” – Daniel V. Reilly, NY

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Famous Quotes by James A. Michener

“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.”

“If a man happens to find himself, he has a mansion which he can inhabit with dignity all the days of his life.”

“I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.”

“And no invader has ever conquered the heart of Poland, that spirit which is the inheritance of sons and daughters, single mothers, the private passion of families and the ancient, unbreakable tie to all those who came before.”

“Scientists dream about doing great things. Engineers do them.”

“The really great writers are people like Emily Brontë who sit in a room and write out of their limited experience and unlimited imagination.”