James A. Michener - A Critical Companion (1996)

216 Pages·1996·0.774 MB·English

by  Marilyn S. Severson

JAMES A. MICHENER
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JAMES A. MICHENER
A Critical Companion
MarilynS.Severson
CRITICALCOMPANIONSTO POPULARCONTEMPORARYWRITERS
Kathleen Gregory Klein, Series Editor
Greenwood Press
Westport, Connecticut • London
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Severson,MarilynS.
JamesA.Michener : acriticalcompanion / MarilynS.Severson.
p. cm.—(Criticalcompanionstopopularcontemporary
writers,ISSN1082–4979)
Includesbibliographicalreferences(p. )andindex.
ISBN0–313–29538–7(alk.paper)
1. Michener,JamesA.(JamesAlbert)—Criticismand
interpretation. I. Title. II. Series.
PS3525.I19Z88 1996
813'.54—dc20 95–50461
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable.
Copyright(cid:2)1996byMarilynS.Severson
Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe
reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe
expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:95–50461
ISBN:0–313–29538–7
ISSN:1082–4979
Firstpublishedin1996
GreenwoodPress,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881
AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
TM
Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe
PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational
InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my sister
for her unfailing love and support
ADVISORYBOARD
Mary Catherine Byrd, English Teacher, EastMontgomeryHigh School,
Biscoe, North Carolina
Dr. Dana McDougald,Library Media Specialist, Cedar Shoals High School,
Athens, Georgia
PatriciaNaismith, Library Media Specialist, Springfield High School,
Springfield, Pennsylvania
ItaliaNegroni, Head, Library Media TechnologyDepartment,StamfordHigh
School, Stamford,Connecticut
Rudy Rocamontes,Jr., English Teacher, SouthwestHigh School, San
Antonio,Texas
Alice F. Stern, Young Adults Librarian,BostonPublic Library, Boston,
Massachusetts
MarciaWelsh, AssistantDirector, Guilford Free Library, Guilford,
Connecticut
Contents
Series Foreword by Kathleen Gregory Klein ix
Acknowledgments xiii
1. The Life of James A. Michener: The World Is
His Home 1
2. Michener’s Fiction: An Overview 17
3. The Fires of Spring (1949) 35
4. Hawaii (1959) 49
5. Centennial (1974) 67
6. Chesapeake (1978) 85
7. The Covenant (1980) 107
8. Space (1982) 129
9. Texas (1985) 147
10. Alaska (1988) 165
11. Miracle in Seville (1995) 183
viii Contents
Bibliography 189
Index 195
Series Foreword
The authors who appear in the series Critical Companions to Popular
ContemporaryWritersareallbest-sellingwriters.Theydonothaveonly
one successful novel, but a string of them. Fans, critics, and specialist
readerseagerly anticipate theirnextbook.Forsome,highcashadvances
and breakthrough sales figures are automatic; movie deals often follow.
Some writers become householdnames,recognizedbyalmosteveryone.
Butnovelsarereadonebyone.Eachreaderchoosestostartand,more
importantly, to finish a book because of what she or he finds there. The
realtestofanovelisinthesatisfactionitsreadersexperience.Thisseries
acknowledges the extraordinary involvement of readers and writers in
creating a best-seller.
TheauthorsincludedinthisserieswerechosenbyanAdvisoryBoard
composed of high school English teachers and high school and public
librarians. They ranked a list of best-selling writers according to their
popularity among different groups of readers. Writersinthetop-ranked
group who had not received book-length, academic literary analysis (or
none in at least the past ten years) were chosen for the series. Because
of this selection method, Critical Companions to PopularContemporary
Writers meets a need that is not addressed elsewhere.
The volumes in the series are written by scholars with particular
expertise in analyzing popular fiction. These specialists add an aca-