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James A. Michener

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James A. Michener

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Also known as James Albert Michener, James Michener

American author (1907-1997)

OverviewAI-generated

James A. Michener (1907–1997) was an American writer, novelist, screenwriter, and military officer. Born in Doylestown, he served in the United States Navy during World War II. His literary career began in 1947, and he was educated at Swarthmore College, the University of Northern Colorado, and the University of St Andrews. Michener was a member of the Democratic Party and resided in various locations, including Austin, Colorado, Greeley, and Pennsylvania.

He received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the National Medal of Arts. His archives are held at the Library of Congress. Michener died in Austin from kidney failure and is buried in the Texas State Cemetery.

Synthesized by Vinony from 36 facts across 9 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Wikiquote, Vinony collections, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born
1907-02-03
Died
1997-10-1
Works
207

Top works

  • אהבה בטרם קיץ
  • A special report to the stockholders & employees of Hawaiian Airlines on the trans-Pacific route case
  • Prentice Hall Literature--Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes--Gold Level
  • Prentice Hall Literature--Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes--Gold
  • The Arts in Renewal

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Writing

Known for

  • The American Hobo: History of the Railriding Worker — Himself - Special Guest2003
  • Spain: The Land and the Legend — Self1978
  • The Dick Cavett Show — Self - Guest1968
  • The Mike Douglas Show — Self1961
  • What's My Line? — Self - Panelist1950
  • The Ed Sullivan Show — Self1948

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Other

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners
31
Total plays
571

James Albert Michener (February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American author of more than 40 titles, the majority of which are novels of sweeping sagas, covering the lives of many generations in a particular geographic locale and incorporating historical facts into the story as well. Michener was known for the meticulous research behind his work. Michener's major books include Tales of the South Pacific (for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948) <a href="https://www.last.fm

via Last.fm · James A. Michener

Quotes

  • In 1948 I addressed some students at Washington and Lee University, and in the question-answer period one young man observed with asperity, "But it's easy for you to write. You've traveled."
  • I was a Navy officer writing about Navy problems and I simply stole this lovely Army nurse and popped her into a Navy uniform, where she has done very well for herself.
  • A group of two dozen nurses completely surrounded by 100,000 unattached American men.
  • On a bleak wintry morning some years ago I was summoned to the office of our naval attache at the American embassy in Kabul.
  • On Tuesday the freighter steamed through the Straits of Gibraltar and for five days plowed eastward through the Mediterranean, past islands and peninsulas rich in history, so that on Saturday night the steward advised Dr. Cullinane, "If you wish an early sight of the Holy Land you must be up at dawn."
  • Only another writer, someone who had worked his heart out on a good book which sold three thousand copies, could appreciate the thrill that overcame me one April morning in 1973 when Dean Rivers of our small college in Georgia appeared at my classroom door.

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Key facts

Born
James Albert Michener , ( 1907-02-03 ) February 3, 1907, Doylestown, Pennsylvania , U.S.
Died
October 16, 1997 (1997-10-16) (aged 90), Austin, Texas , U.S.
Occupation
Author philanthropist teacher academic naval officer political advisor
Education
Swarthmore College ( BA ), University of St Andrews , University of Northern Colorado ( MA )
Genre
Historical fiction
Notable works
Tales of the South Pacific (1946)
Notable awards
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1948), Presidential Medal of Freedom (1977)
Spouses
Patti Koon ​ ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1935 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1948 ) ​ Vange Nord ​ ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1948 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1955 ) ​ Mari Yoriko Sabusawa ​ ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1955 ; died 1994 ) ​

via Wikipedia infobox

~17 min read

Encyclopedic overview

James Albert Michener (/ˈmɪtʃənər/ or /ˈmɪtʃnər/; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations, set in particular geographic locales and incorporating detailed history. Many of his works were bestsellers and were chosen by the Book of the Month Club. He was also known for the meticulous research that went into his books.

Michener's books include his first book, Tales of the South Pacific, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948; Hawaii; The Drifters; Centennial; The Source; The Fires of Spring; Chesapeake; Caribbean; Caravans; Alaska; Texas; Space; Poland; and The Bridges at Toko-ri. His non-fiction works include Iberia, about his travels in Spain and Portugal; his memoir, The World Is My Home; and Sports in America. Return to Paradise combines fictional short stories with Michener's factual descriptions of the Pacific areas where they take place.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “James A. Michener” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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