Preview of Tales of the South Pacific Summary:

In Tales of the South Pacific, Michener explores themes common to most of his works: racism and bigotry; the brotherhood of humankind; the effects of war, violence, exploitation, and authoritarianism on the human psyche; and man's destruction of his environment. Michener has stated that the book was written "under extremely difficult circumstances. I was in the Navy on Espiritu Santo in the South Seas . . . I was sure the people who were bitching so much about the Islands would not remember them that way. I try to anticipate history."