James A. Michener
James A. Michener
James Albert Michenerwas an American author of more than 40 books, the majority of which were fictional, lengthy family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating solid history. Michener was known for the popularity of his works; he had numerous bestsellers and works selected for Book of the Month Club. He was also known for his meticulous research behind the books...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth3 February 1907
CountryUnited States of America
They were a group of two dozen nurses completely surrounded by 100,000 unattached American men.
First buy a cowboy hat and boots. Then you're on your way to being a Texan.
The chief character in this narrative is the Caribbean Sea, one of the world's most alluring bodies of water, a rare gem among the oceans, defined by the islands that form a chain of lovely jewels to the north and east
There are no insoluble problems. Only time-consuming ones.
I never wrote anything that was published until I was forty.
I wish I could tell you about the South Pacific. The way it actually was. The endless ocean. The infinite specks of coral we called islands. Coconut palms nodding gracefully toward the ocean. Reefs upon which waves broke into spray, and inner lagoons, lovely beyond description. I wish I could tell you about the sweating jungle, the full moon rising behind the volcanoes, and the waiting. The waiting. The timeless, repetitive waiting.
It is difficult to be king when the gods are changing.
No invader has ever conquered the heart of Poland, that spirit which is the inheritance of sons and daughters, the private passion of families and the ancient, unbreakable tie to all those who came before.
Although most of us know Vincent van Gogh in Arles and Paul Gauguin in Tahiti as if they were neighbors -- somewhat disreputable but endlessly fascinating -- none of us can name two French generals or department store owners of that period. I take enormous pride in considering myself an artist, one of the necessaries.
I am a humanist because I think humanity can, with constant moral guidance, create reasonably decent societies. I think that young people who want to understand the world can profit from the works of Plato and Socrates, the behaviour of the three Thomases, Aquinas, More and Jefferson - the austere analyses of Immanuel Kant and the political leadership of Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt.
For this is the journey that men and women make, to find themselves. If they fail in this, it doesn't matter much else what they find.
Unless you think you can do better than Tolstoy, we don't need you
The really great writers are people like Emily Bront? who sit in a room and write out of their limited experience and unlimited imagination.