Michener, James James Michener. (more) James Michener American author Ask the Chatbot a Question More Actions Print Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Albert-Michener Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

　　External Websites Academy of Achievement - James A. Michener Texas State Cemetry - James Albert Michener Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. James Michener - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up) Ask the Chatbot a Question Also known as: James A. Michener Written by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Article History Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask the Chatbot Quick Facts In full: James Albert Michener (Show more) Born: February 3, 1907?, New York City, New York?, U.S. (Show more) Died: October 16, 1997, Austin, Texas (Show more) Awards And Honors: Pulitzer Prize (Show more) Notable Works: “Hawaii” “Iberia: Spanish Travels and Reflections” “Mexico” “Space” “Tales of the South Pacific” “The World is My Home” (Show more) See all related content James Michener (born February 3, 1907?, New York City, New York?, U.S.—died October 16, 1997, Austin, Texas) was an American novelist and short-story writer who, perhaps more than any other single author, made foreign environments accessible to Americans through fiction. Best known for his novels, he wrote epic and detailed works classified as fictional documentaries.

　　Michener was a foundling discovered in Doylestown, Pennsylvania; there is uncertainty about the date and place of his birth. He was adopted by Mabel Michener and raised as a Quaker. In his teens he ran away from home and eventually became a teacher and editor. He served as a naval historian in the South Pacific from 1944 to 1946, and his early fiction is set in this area. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for the collection Tales of the South Pacific (1947), which presented the world of the South Pacific as exotic and foreign yet still part of the brotherhood of man. The anthology was later adapted for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific, which itself won a Pulitzer Prize and turned Michener’s book into a best seller.

　　Michener’s novels were usually massive in scope, and he researched them extensively. Novels such as Hawaii (1959) and The Source (1965) typically open with the earliest history of an area—the geology, flora, and fauna—and ultimately encompass the people who settle and rule there. He sometimes spent years preparing a book, as he did in Spain for Iberia: Spanish Travels and Reflections (1968). Michener wrote with journalistic skill, aiming to instruct. Although he was criticized for the abundance of detail and facts in his fiction, his books were extremely popular, offering the reader a carefully and elaborately created world. In his later years, Michener turned his interest to American landscapes in Centennial (1974) and Chesapeake (1978). The Covenant (1980) concerns South Africa and the background of apartheid. Another massive opus was Space (1982), in which he tried, with mixed results, to fictionally chronicle the U.S. space program. Mexico (1992) fictionally deals with the problems of contemporary Mexico, partly as seen through the lens of bullfighting. There is also a strong dramatization of Indian slavery in the country’s silver mines.

　　Not all of Michener’s works were fictional. The Fires of Spring (1949) was autobiographical, as was his 1992 memoir, The World Is My Home. His last completed book was A Century of Sonnets (1997).

　　Michener in later life was a great philanthropist, contributing millions of dollars to universities and the Authors League Fund. Prior to his death, he donated 1,500 Japanese prints to the University of Hawaii.

　　The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.