What do you think?
Rate this book
Michener: A Writer's Journey
James A. Michener was one of the most beloved storytellers of our time, captivating readers with sweeping historical plots that educated and entertained. In this first full-length biography of the private as well as the public Michener, Stephen J. May reveals how an aspiring writer became a best-selling novelist. It is the only book to draw on Michener’s complete papers as well as interviews with his friends and associates. The result conveys much about Michener never before revealed in print.
May follows the young Michener from an impoverished Pennsylvania childhood to the wartime Pacific, where he found inspiration for Tales of the South Pacific, a book that led to a string of best sellers, including The Source, Centennial, Chesapeake, and The Covenant. May provides insights into Michener’s personal life: his three marriages, his unique working methods, and his social and political views. He also reveals the author’s hypersensitivity to criticism, his egotism, and his failure on some occasions to acknowledge the contributions of his assistants.
Examining Michener’s body of writing in its biographical and cultural contexts, May describes the creation of each novel and assesses the book’s strengths and shortcomings. His close readings underscore Michener’s innovativeness in presenting mountains of historical and cultural research in an engaging literary form.
This probing biography establishes Michener’s place in twentieth-century letters as it offers an unprecedented view of the man behind the typewriter.
May follows the young Michener from an impoverished Pennsylvania childhood to the wartime Pacific, where he found inspiration for Tales of the South Pacific, a book that led to a string of best sellers, including The Source, Centennial, Chesapeake, and The Covenant. May provides insights into Michener’s personal life: his three marriages, his unique working methods, and his social and political views. He also reveals the author’s hypersensitivity to criticism, his egotism, and his failure on some occasions to acknowledge the contributions of his assistants.
Examining Michener’s body of writing in its biographical and cultural contexts, May describes the creation of each novel and assesses the book’s strengths and shortcomings. His close readings underscore Michener’s innovativeness in presenting mountains of historical and cultural research in an engaging literary form.
This probing biography establishes Michener’s place in twentieth-century letters as it offers an unprecedented view of the man behind the typewriter.
- GenresBiography
306 pages, Hardcover
First published October 10, 2005
26 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 7, 2024
I read this a few years after it was first published, and I still remember it. I had read about five books by Michener (which corresponds to about 20 from the average writer), so I was really curious about him. He was a Pennsylvania boy, as well, and Pennsylvania is my native state.
The big thing for me about this book is that this was the first time I learned that he had committed suicide, although I see it was mentioned in his obituary in The New York Times. He was reliant on dialysis, and finally said, "Aw, fuck it," or something like that. It didn't seem like a sad choice, but that he had made that choice had been played down.
I do want to warn you that a lot of the plots of Michener's books are really gone into. If you haven't read them, these are major spoilers. I won't be reading Poland, for instance, since this book went deeply into it.
If you're not interested in Michener or hate his books, I don't see why you would want to read this. This is preaching to the choir, but I enjoyed it very much.
The big thing for me about this book is that this was the first time I learned that he had committed suicide, although I see it was mentioned in his obituary in The New York Times. He was reliant on dialysis, and finally said, "Aw, fuck it," or something like that. It didn't seem like a sad choice, but that he had made that choice had been played down.
I do want to warn you that a lot of the plots of Michener's books are really gone into. If you haven't read them, these are major spoilers. I won't be reading Poland, for instance, since this book went deeply into it.
If you're not interested in Michener or hate his books, I don't see why you would want to read this. This is preaching to the choir, but I enjoyed it very much.
August 27, 2020
I'm a sucker for almost anything Michener related. This bio helped fill in the gaps (especially in his personal life) left in his auto biography, though still left some areas under explored, like his involvement in overseas clandestine activities. To be fair, there may not have been much to share. Very inspiring though to read of someone so productive for so long.
January 5, 2022
what an ego
November 25, 2011
I've read a lot of Michener and believe it's one of the best ways to learn history easily. His own life was a disappointment and that's probably not fair - he put so much into his books, his own life shouldn't and really doesn't matter.
February 9, 2014
Workmanlike biography of one of my favorite authors. Very little drama and not too much insight, although I don't think there is too much insight needed.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews