Short Story Collections

Tales of the South Pacific is the iconic, Pulitzer Prize–winning masterpiece that inspired a Broadway classic and launched the career of James A. Michener, one of America’s most beloved storytellers. This thrilling work invites the reader to enter the exotic world of the South Pacific and luxuriate in the endless ocean, the coconut palms, the waves breaking into spray against the reefs, the full moon rising behind the volcanoes. And yet here also are the men and women caught up in the heady drama of World War II: the young Marine who falls for a beautiful Tonkinese girl; the Navy nurse whose prejudices are challenged by a French aristocrat; and all the soldiers and sailors preparing for war against the seemingly peaceful backdrop of a tropical paradise. Praise for James A. Michener and Tales of the South Pacific “Truly one of the most remarkable books to come out of [World War II] . . . Michener is a born storyteller.” — The New York Times “Riveting and emotional . . . Ever since James Michener wrote Tales of the South Pacific, the dreamers among us have been searching for our own Bali Ha’i.” — The Washington Post “Atmospheric . . . [ Tales of the South Pacific marks] the beginning of Michener’s long exploration of what happens when cultures connect, or fail to.” — Los Angeles Times “Few writers changed the face of American fiction as profoundly as did James Michener.” — San Francisco Chronicle

James A. 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. In this sequel collection, Michener once again evokes the magic of the extraordinary isles in the Pacific—from Fiji and Gaudalcanal to New Zealand and Papua New Guinea—through stories that burst with adventure, charm, and local color. For Michener’s many fans around the globe, Return to Paradise is a precious second look at a land of enchantment by one of the most gifted storytellers of the twentieth century. Praise for Return to Paradise “A brilliant book and a worthy successor to Tales of the South Pacific .” — The Atlanta Constitution “This is a book that should be read by everyone. . . . All who have seen the South Pacific will find on every page the odors of frangipani, copra, blood, and beer.” — The New York Times “There’s drama and pathos and adventure and humanity . . . and a very high degree of excellence. Michener can write.” — Kirkus Reviews

The successes of Mr. Michener’s , Tales of the South Pacific and Return to Paradise showed how skilfully he cast the spell of the Pacific over his readers. It is to the Pacific that he returns in collaboration with Mr. Grove Day in Rascals in Paradise . The authors tell the true life stories of nine men and one woman who in the last four centuries sought fame and fortune, and pursued their dreams, in the most romantic of all the world’s oceans. Rascals all, though few without redeeming qualities, they operated on so bizarre, so individual a scale that their lives assumed epic proportions, and their stories amaze as much as they thrill or horrify us. We read of the nineteen-year-old sailor who, in pursuit of his dream of ruling an island kingdom, started a mutiny and with his own hands murdered all the officers of his ship; of the French Marquis who sent shipload after shipload of prospective settlers to a death trap island off New Guinea, having first pocketed their savings; of Bligh, of the mutiny on the Bounty fame, and of that other mutiny he had later to face when Governor of New South Wales; of Coxinga, the Chinese Pirate, who came within an ace of overthrowing the great Manchu dynasty; of Dona Isabel, "one of the supreme bitches of all time", who. set out from Callao in Peru in 1595 to win a Pacific empire for herself; of the fourteen-year-old English boy, Will Mariner, who became chief adviser to the King of the Tonga Islands; and, in modern times, of the fantastic painter on velvet who regularly once a fortnight ran amok in the capital of Tahiti. Violent men, greedy for fame, or power, or money, these "rascals in Paradise" forma a superb portrait gallery, and the authors have done them splendid justice. This is a book for everyone who loves excitement, romance, and the pleasure of good stories well told, and in the telling Mr. Michener and Mr. Day lead us down many of history's least known and most fascinating by-ways.

Showcasing the evocative artwork created by John Moll for this special edition, James A. Michener’s The Watermen is a unique tribute to the adventurous seafarers of the Chesapeake Bay. Excerpted from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author’s classic Chesapeake, this enthralling novel has a unity and a spirit all its own, telling the story of the bay and its wildlife, but especially of the watermen, from their favorite pastimes to their rivalries in hunting, oystering, racing, and fighting. Gorgeously illustrated, brilliantly conceived, The Watermen is a narrative and visual feast from one of America’s favorite storytellers. Praise for Chesapeake “Another of James Michener’s great mines of narrative, character and lore.” — The Wall Street Journal “[A] marvelous panorama of history seen in the lives of symbolic people of the ages . . . an emotionally and intellectually appealing book.” — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Michener’s most ambitious work of fiction in theme and scope.” — The Philadelphia Inquirer “Magnificently written . . . one of those rare novels that is enthusiastically passed from friend to friend.” —Associated Press

"DRAMATIC...ENTHRALLING...EXPERTLY CRAFTED...Michener treats each of these creatures with fundamental respect, and in many cases, admiration and awe, if not outright love." --The Virginian-Pilot & The Ledger-Star In these sixteen wonderful stories, bestselling author James A. Michener lights up nature's most awesome and beguiling handiwork--from the sublime shaping and reshaping of earth's land and seas to the ridiculous armadillo whose assault on a bit of Texas real estate paid off handsomely. Chosen from Michener's most popular books--including one story never before published in paperback--these mini-masterpieces take us deep into the secret lives of animals and the hidden world of nature. In them we hear the music of the spheres and feel the heartbeat of creation. "Contain[s] the dramatic elements of a life--the wonder of birth, rites of passage, lots of conflict, much of it physical and bloody, and death...As characters in a Michener novel, a beaver can know loneliness, a buffalo can bide his time, a salmon can feel encouraged, and a woolly mammoth can 'luxuriate' in the ecological rewards of a plains fire." --Boston Sunday Herald "Delightful...Nature writing at its most fluid and involving." --Booklist