Book Summary and Reviews of Centennial by James A. Michener

Centennial by James A. Michener

Centennial

by James A. Michener

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  • Published:
  • Jul 1974, 909 pages
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Book Summary

Written to commemorate the Bicentennial in 1976, James A. Michener's magnificent saga of the Westis an enthralling celebration of the frontier.

Brimming with the glory of America's past, the story of Colorado—the Centennial State—is manifested through its people: Lame Beaver, the Arapaho chieftain and warrior, and his Comanche and Pawnee enemies; Levi Zendt, fleeing with his child bride from the Amish country; the cowboy, Jim Lloyd, who falls in love with a wealthy and cultured Englishwoman, Charlotte Seccombe. In Centennial, trappers, traders, homesteaders, gold seekers, ranchers, and hunters are brought together in the dramatic conflicts that shape the destiny of the legendary West—and the entire country.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"A hell of a book ... While he fascinates and engrosses, Michener also educates." —Los Angeles Times

"Michener is America's best writer, and he proves it once again in Centennial... . If you're a Michener fan, this book is a must. And if you're not a Michener fan, Centennial will make you one." —The Pittsburgh Press

This information about Centennial was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

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Author Information

James A. Michener

James A. Michener was one of the world's most popular writers, the author of more than forty books of fiction and nonfiction, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning 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. Michener served on the advisory council to NASA and the International Broadcast Board, which oversees the Voice of America. Among dozens of awards and honors, he received America's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1977, and an award from the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 1983 for his commitment to art in America. Michener died in 1997 at the age of ninety.

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