Michener, James Albert [key], 1907–97, American author, b. New York City, grad. Swarthmore, 1929. His short-story collection Tales of the South Pacific (1947; Pulitzer Prize) was adapted into the successful Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific (1948). His more than 40 novels, many best sellers and usually centered on historical and geographical themes, include The Bridges at Toko-ri (1953), Hawaii (1959), Centennial (1974), Chesapeake (1980), Texas (1985), Caribbean (1989), Recessional (1994), and Miracle in Seville (1995). Among his nonfiction works are The Modern Japanese Print (1969) and Kent State (1971).
See his memoir, The World Is My Home (1992) and his Literary Reflections (1993); biography by J. P. Hayes (1984); study by G. J. Becker (1983).
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