James Albert Michener
(1907–1997)

James Michener wrote more than 40 books, among them Tales of the South Pacific (1947), Hawaii (1959), Centennial (1974), Space (1982), Texas (1985), Alaska (1988), and This Noble Land: My Vision for America (1996). Michener is known for his ability to tell an adventurous story and make the reader identify with his characters no matter where or when they lived.

Michener was probably born in New York, NY in 1907, but because he was abandoned as an infant, his actual birthday has never been confirmed. He was raised by Mabel Haddock Michener in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He went to Swarthmore College on a scholarship, graduated summa cum laude in 1929, and became a teacher.

When the United States entered World War II, Michener joined the Navy and was sent to the South Pacific. From 1944 to 1946, he served as a naval historian in that region. There, he gathered the information that led to his first book Tales of the South Pacific. The book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1948 and was made into the musical "South Pacific" by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Michener's share of the royalities from the musical enabled him to be a full-time writer. He traveled extensively and researched his subjects before writing his bestselling novels.

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