James A. Michener

James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. His books include Tales of the South Pacific, Hawaii, The Drifters, Texas, and Poland. Most of his 40 books are very large sagas. They are about the lives of many generations in a particular place. His non-fiction writings include the 1992 book The World is My Home and Sports in America.

Michener wrote that he did not know who his parents were or exactly when and where he was born. He was raised by an adoptive mother, Mabel Michener, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Some have argued that Mabel was his birth mother. He graduated from Swarthmore College, where he played basketball, in 1929. He later studied at the Colorado State Teachers College. He taught there for several years. He also taught at Harvard University. 

His writing career began during World War II. He was assigned to the South Pacific Ocean as a naval historian. He used his time there as the basis for Tales of the South Pacific, his first book. This book was the basis for the musical South Pacific.

Michener met his wife Mari while in Japan. His novel Sayonara is autobiographical.

On January 10, 1977, he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Gerald R. Ford.

In his final years, he lived in Austin, Texas, where he died of kidney failure on October 16, 1997 at the age of 90.

 Books by James A. Michener 
 Alaska
 The Bridge at Andau
 The Bridges at Toko-Ri
 Caravans
 Caribbean
 Centennial
 A Century of Sonnets
 Chesapeake
 Collectors, Forgers - And A Writer: A Memoir
 The Covenant
 Creatures of the Kingdom
 The Drifters
 The Eagle and The Raven
 The Fires of Spring
 The Floating World
 Hawaii
 Iberia
 Japanese Prints
 Journey
 Kent State: What Happened and Why
 Legacy
 Literary Reflections
 Mexico
 Miracle in Seville
 The Novel
 Pilgrimage: A Memoir of Poland and Rome
 Poland
 Presidential Lottery
 The Quality of Life
 Rascals in Paradise
 Recessional
 Return to Paradise
 Sayonara
 Six Days in Havana
 The Source
 Space
 Sports in America
 Tales of the South Pacific
 Texas
 The World is My Home
 This Noble Land
 Ventures in Editing
 The Voice of Asia
 Years of Infamy

 References 

Category:1907 births
Category:1997 deaths
Category:Writers from Pennsylvania
Category:Writers from Hawaii
Category:Writers from Austin, Texas
Category:Harvard University faculty