Bio: James Michener published fifty books over a fifty-year career as one of America's best-loved novelists and essayists. His works, both fiction and non-fiction, were known for their prodigious research and educated as they entertained. From his first work, Tales of the South Pacific, which was adapted to Broadway and film as South Pacific, James Michener became a fixture on the American writing scene. His books often were the number one selling titles for the industry in their initial year of release. A humble man, James Michener was also philanthropic.