Summary
Michener is best known for his fictional works that illustrate the history of a nation, state or region. His novels are history lessons disguised as fiction. He brings together setting, people and story to create an interesting account of some part of the world.
Despite his fondness for independence, he was not a recluse. And he didn’t back away from controversy. He seemed to always engage in a rich social life with everyday people, business leaders, politicians, and leaders and citizens of other nations. 'I studied people, listened to their stories, weighed the honesty of their statements and always judged myself in terms of their achievements,' he wrote.
He called himself 'a humanist' because 'I think humanity can, with constant moral guidance, create reasonably decent societies.'
In his novels Hawaii, Centennial, Chesapeake, Texas and Alaska, he gives revealing portraits of five areas of his native America. Centennial, his account of the history of Colorado, called the Centennial State because it became part of the U.S. in 1876 on the nation’s 100th birthday, contains what he calls 'one of the best chapters I’ve written' about a cattle drive from Jacksboro across west Texas up the Pecos River to Horsehead Crossing and the Venneford Ranch in Colorado. The reader vicariously participates in the dust, heat and hard work of an authentic cattle drive as seen primarily through the eyes of 14-year-old Jim Lloyd, one of the book’s more complex characters because Michener shares with readers Jim’s thoughts as well as his actions.
Michener wrote about a wide variety of topics in his other books set in the United States, ranging from sports (Sports in America in 1976) to politics (Report of the County Chairman in 1961 and Presidential Lottery: The Reckless Gamble in Our Electoral System in 1969) and the development of the space program (Space in 1982). His other books included The Drifters (1971) and Kent State: What Happened and Why (1971) about young members of the counterculture and the shootings on the Kent State campus, The Recessional (1994) about old age and problems faced by the elderly, and James A. Michener’s Writer’s Handbook: Explorations in Writing and Publishing (1992) and The Novel (1991) about the art of writing and the business of publishing.
His second book, The Fires of Spring (1949) comes closest to an autobiography, and his memoirs were published in The World Is My Home (1992).
He even wrote about the Alamo, Sam Houston and Santa Anna in The Eagle and the Raven (1990), which was actually developed from a deleted chapter in Texas.
But Michener wasn’t limited to the U.S. for his subjects. He traveled, lived and worked in 103 nations around the world, researching and documenting his ideas and looking for new ones. 'I always have a great backlog I want to write about,' he said. 'I can’t ever conceive of running out of ideas. They crowd me. Ideas have been the joy of my life.'
In whatever country he visited, he said, 'I met dreamers who longed to reach America and its promise of an enriched life. So I knew we had a country rich in opportunity.'
Asia and the Pacific certainly figure prominently in his collection of works, beginning with his first novel Tales of the South Pacific (1947), because he felt an understanding of this region was absolutely crucial for Americans. Titles that followed included The Voice of Asia (1951), Return to Paradise (1951), The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1953), Sayonara (1954), The Floating World (1955), Hawaii (1959), Japanese Prints: From the Early Masters to the Modern (1959), and The Modern Japanese Print: An Appreciation (1968).
Sen. Daniel Inouye called him 'Mr. Pacific' and said, 'I found that in many capitals in that part of the world, James A. Michener was one of the best known Americans.'
Other international settings for his books included South Africa for The Covenant (1980), Poland (1983), the Spanish peninsula for Iberia: Spanish Travels and Reflections (1968) and Miracle in Seville (1995), Israel for The Source (1965), Afghanistan for Caravans (1963), Nicaragua for The Legacy (1987), Caribbean (1989) and Mexico (1992).
On several occasions he lived for extended periods of time in places where he and the native people didn’t understand each other’s language.
'That I am a citizen of the world is quite clear,' he wrote, 'but I have never been willing to adopt an affiliation with something vague and amorphous. My home is only one nation within the greater entity, but I serve the whole much more effectively when I serve my homeland best.'
No doubt many readers made notes as they progressed through his books about places they too wanted to visit.
