Bell noted in
Commentary that "in many of his books" Michener "tries to improve" the hearts of his readers "by exposing . . . the torment and destruction caused by racial intolerance and religious bigotry." According to Yardley in the
New York Times Book Review, Michener "has been a passionate and outspoken advocate of racial and religious tolerance," and "assign[ed] important roles to women . . . long before feminism became fashionable." Writing about
Centennial, A. Grove Day commented in
Dictionary of Literary Biography that, "As in earlier novels, progress is the result of ethnic intermingling, and in Michener's simple Quaker creed, all men and women are brothers and sisters." No matter what critics wrote, readers have continued to buy Michener's books, and the novelist received encouragement from the countless letters he received from fans.
Up until his death Michener wrote and published numerous works of both fiction and nonfiction. Despite the hours he devoted to writing and research, he was more than a writer. Michener nurtured a love of the fine arts--he established the James A. Michener Art Museum in his childhood hometown of Doylestown, Pennsylvania--and a passion for opera. He was a "citizen" in the true sense of the word, active in civic and government affairs on several levels and pondering the problems of his country.
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