The main characters of this southern africa, south africa story are. Micheners masterly chronicle of south africa is an epic tale of. Michener has 150 books on goodreads with 495567 ratings. The covenant is a historical novel by american author james a. The first edition of the novel was published in january 1st 1980, and was written by james a. James michener james michener 19071997 is best known for hismany epic historical novels, which have sold an estimated 75 million copies worldwide. Africa has banned the book, the nonwhite side of things never becomes humanly specific. James michener, spurned by many but read by millions, died on october 16th, aged 90. He manages to make history vivid and palatable to the. Michener s masterly chronicle of south africa is an epic tale of adventurers, scoundrels, and ministers, the best and worst of two continents who carve an empire out of a vast wilderness. Michener does a very good job in portraying south africa in all its aspects i lived in the region for 4 years, but am totally unaware of a winery called trianon. The king of the bestsellers talks about friends and enemies, getting older, television and of course texas, his new novel of the lone star state.
The novel is set in south africa, home to five distinct populations. The bestselling book was adapted into the popular musical and film, south pacific. Michener the drifters book club edition hardcover new york random house 1970 very good in a very good dust jacket. Michener s books in order of when they were first released. Micheners books in order of when they were first released. Jun 10, 20 many many years ago, when i still had the stamina to read books of a thousand and more pages, and way before id ever shed any thought to living in south africa one day, i read the covenant by james a. He did books on apartheid south africa, american landscapes and the bullfighting life in mexico. Micheners masterly chronicle of south africa is an epic tale of adventurers, scoundrels, and ministers, the best and worst of two. Jul 28, 2014 the covenant is the last michener book on my list, and i honestly dont plan to read any others. I spent an entire year reading through the novels of james michener, especially the saga novels of the 1970s and 80s. Albert michener, born around 1907, won the pulitzer prize for his first fiction, tales of the south pacific. His 1959 novel, hawaii, which was made into a motion picture in 1966, was nominated for seven academy awards.
And one somehow ends this huge volume with little feel for historical continuity or for the physical setting a surprising lapse from michener. A prodigious author of prodigiously long novels hawaii, centennial, the source micheners covenant is yet another blockbuster a near 900page novel on south africa that encompasses. It tells the story of that land from the early settlements by the dutch, through the expansion of it by english immigrants and others, to the southafrica of the apartheid age, shortly before it was eliminated. It is the center of what may be very legitimate plagiarism claims by michener s researcher, errol uys. In this sequel collection, michener once again evokes the. Michener was at the peak of his career, when he took the ideas and words of a young immigrant from south africa and told the world they were his own. Michener, as he is popularly known as, is a well known novelist, philanthropist and story writer from pennsylvania, united states. Micheners books include 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, and poland, as well as the bridges at tokori. Dec 26, 2015 james michener one of the greatest authors ever.
Jan 01, 1980 james micheners epic book on south africa. I worked with michener for two years from 1978 to 1980, a collaboration that produced the covenant. James michener, in full james albert michener, born february 3, 1907. He authored more than forty books of fiction and nonfiction, including the pulitzer prizewinning tales of the south pacific, the bestselling novels the source, hawaii, alaska, chesapeake, centennial, texas, caribbean, and caravans, and the memoir the world is my home. In this sequel collection, michener once again evokes the magic of the extraordinary isles in the pacificfrom fiji and gaudalcanal to new zealand and. Reconsidering the astonishing literary legacy of james. Michener tales of the south pacific book club edition 1st printing. Micheners masterly chronicle of south africa is an epic tale of adventurers, scoundrels, and ministers, the best and worst of two continents, who carve an empire out of a vast wilderness. See more ideas about historical fiction, books and author. A wealth of fascinating materialand michener does his best to balance boer. Michener s masterly chronicle of south africa is an epic tale of adventurers, scoundrels, and ministers, the best and worst of two continents who carve an empire out of. Michener, the master of historical fiction, revisits the scenes of his first great work, tales of the south pacific, the pulitzer prize winner that brought him international acclaim. James a michener books biography and list of works. Michener, the pulitzer prizewinning master of the historical saga, returns to his beloved spain with this magical novel of seville at easter time, a season of splendid pageantry, thrilling bullfights, deep pietyand the possibility of m.
Michener 19071997, a former naval historian in the south pacific, was known for his epic novels tracing the roots of his exotic locales and their people. Another massive opus was space 1982, in which he tried, with mixed results, to fictionally chronicle the u. Best known for his novels, he wrote epic and detailed works classified as fictional documentaries. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were lengthy, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating solid history. Micheners numerous bestselling novels also included the source, centennial, texas, hawaii, and chesapeake.
James michener, american novelist and shortstory writer who, perhaps more than any other single author, made foreign environments accessible to americans through fiction. Beginning with tales of the south pacific 1947, the first book of short stories to win the pulitzer prize for fiction. Michener 19071997 was one of the worlds most popular writers. It tells the story of that land from the early settlements by the dutch, through the expansion of it by english.
Michener s masterly chronicle of south africa is an epic tale of adventurers, scoundrels, and ministers, the best and worst of two continents, who carve an empire out of a vast wilderness. Micheners masterly chronicle of south africa is an epic tale of adventurers, scoundrels, and ministers, the best and worst of two continents. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 1240 pages and is available in paperback format. But, despite a chapter devoted to apartheid horrors so. His first novel was the fires of spring, which was published in 1949. He had already read 300 books about the state, and he was 75. He is most famous for writing the multigeneration historical and fictional stories. James a mic hener biography and list of works james a mic hener books.
February 3, 1907 october 16, 1997 was 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. His books topped the new york times bestseller list. Is this 900page south africa saga much more spotty and illshaped than. While centennial was the only one of the four michener novels i read that got a television adaptation, the covenant has a legacy of its own. The best and worst of two continents carve an empire out of the vast wilderness that is to become south africa. James was born on february 3, 1907 in new york, united states. It tells the story of that land from the early settlements by the dutch, through the expansion of it by english immigrants and others, to the south africa of the apartheid age, shortly before it was eliminated. Id read many of his other books, but even then his story of south africa had stood out as particularly gripping. Bantu native black tribes, coloured the result of generations of racial mixture between persons of european descent and the indigenous occupants of south africa along with slaves. From the javaborn van doorn family tree springs two great branches. In his later years, michener turned his interest to american landscapes in centennial 1974 and chesapeake 1978. February 3, 1907 october 16, 1997 was an american author. Michener became a published author in 1948 with the short story collection tales of the south pacific.
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