Michener, James (1907-1997)
With the passing of James Michener in 1997, America lost one of the most prolific American novelists and outstanding philanthropists of the twentieth century. In his popula...
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James Michener (1907-1997) is best known for his many epic historical novels, which have sold an estimated 75 million copies worldwide. He was also a noted philanthropist, having contributed more than...
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As Harrison Salisbury wrote in the Chicago Tribune, "James Michener is as much an American institution as the Fourth of July or apple pie." Michener wrote short stories, essays, poems, and art histori...
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James Michener has published nearly a dozen volumes of fiction, but such is his versatility that he has published more than an equal number of volumes of nonfiction, and more than one hundred articles...
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Critical Essay by Jonathan Yardley
It's easy enough to be condescending toward James Michener, and over the years many reviewers have been exactly that. His long, plodding novels are high on si...
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Critical Essay by Don Harrell
In all his previous work James A. Michener's point of origin is the beginning of things….
Locale, therefore, dominates the action of his story and the devel...
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Critical Essay by Pearl K. Bell
James Michener's long and earnest novels … have not been found worthy of even the most casual mention in serious studies of contemporary American fiction,...
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[In the following obituary, Omicinski lauds Michener's life and works.]
James Michener's novels are hard to put down.
Indeed, some are difficult to pick up, too.
Michener, who last week ...
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[In the following obituary, Barnes gives an overview of the author's works, calling him a "gifted storyteller, with a panoramic vision."]
James A. Michener, a prolific author whos...
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[In the following obituary, Elizondo calls Michener's works entertaining and inspiring.]
James Michener's second novel tells of a poor Pennsylvania boy who becomes a writer—an aut...
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[In the following obituary, Krebs discusses Michener's work and comments on his expert documentation and narrative ability.]
James A. Michener, who survived a Dickensian childhood to win the Pu...
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[In the following obituary, Simon discusses Michener's amazing success and popularity with his readers, despite the criticism of reviewers.]
James A. Michener, the extravagant storyteller who d...
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[In the following review, Barich praises Michener's memoir, The World Is My Home, as a "Horatio Alger story," both entertaining and touching.]
In his new memoir, The World Is My H...
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[In the following review, Lindbergh faults Michener's Recessional for its two-dimensional characters and predictable plot.]
The trouble with James Michener's latest novel may be that it ...
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[In the following review, Wolitzer finds that Michener's melodramatic Recessional pales in comparison to his poignant The World Is My Home.]
James A. Michener seems to heed the old dictum to ...
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