The Floating World by novelist James A. Michener is a classic work on the Japanese print of the Edo period (1615-1868). Mr. Michener shows how the Japanese printmakers, cut off from revivifying contacts with the art of the rest of the world and hampered by their own governmental restrictions, were able to keep their art vital for two centuries through their vigor and determination.For this new edition, Howard A. Link updates the scholarship and expands on many theoretical aspects introduced in Michener's study.

In his signature style of grand storytelling, James Michener sweeps us back through time to the Holy Land, thousands of years ago. By exploring the lives and discoveries of modern archaeologists excavating the site of Tell Makor, Michener vividly re-creates life in and around an ancient city during critical periods of its existence, and traces the profound history of the Jews, including that of the early Hebrews and their persecution, the impact of Christianity on the Jewish world, the Crusades, and the Spanish Inquisition. Michener weaves his epic tale of love, strength, and faith until at last he arrives at the founding of Israel and the modern conflict in the Middle East. The Source is not only a compelling history of the Holy Land and its people but a richly written saga that encompasses the development of Western civilization and the great religious and cultural ideas that have shaped our world.

In this romantic adventure of wild Afghanistan, master storyteller James Michener mixes the allure of the past with the dangers of today. After an impetuous American girl, Ellen Jasper, marries a young Afghan engineer, her parents hear no word from her. Although she wants freedom to do as she wishes, not even she is sure what that means. In the meantime, she is as good as lost in that wild land, perhaps forever....
"An extraordinary novel....Brilliant."
THE NEW YORK TIMES


From the Paperback edition.

Michener is America's best writer, and he proves it once again in CENTENNIAL. THE PITTSBURGH PRESS A stunning panorama of the West, CENTENNIAL is an enthralling celebration of our country, brimming with the glory and the greatness of the American past that only bestselling author James Michener could bring to stunning life. From the Native Americans, the migrating white men and women, the cowboys, and the foreigners, it is a story of trappers, traders, homesteaders, gold seekers, ranchers, and hunters--all caught up in the dramatic events and violent conflicts that shaped the destiny of our legendary West. From the Paperback edition.

Spain is an immemorial land like no other, one that James A. Michener, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and celebrated citizen of the world, came to love as his own. "Iberia "is Michener's enduring nonfiction tribute to his cherished second home. In the fresh and vivid prose that is his trademark, he not only reveals the celebrated history of bullfighters and warrior kings, painters and processions, cathedrals and olive orchards, he also shares the intimate, often hidden country he came to know, where the congeniality of living souls is thrust against the dark weight of history. Wild, contradictory, passionately beautiful, this is Spain as experienced by a master writer.
Praise for "Iberia"
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"From the glories of the Prado to the loneliest stone villages, here is Spain, castle of old dreams and new realities."--"The New York Times"
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"Massive, beautiful . . . unquestionably some of the best writing on Spain and] the best that Mr. Michener has ever done on any subject."--"The Wall Street Journal"
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"A dazzling panorama . . . one of the richest and most satisfying books about Spain in living memory."--"Saturday Review"
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"Kaleidoscopic . . . This book will make you fall in love with Spain."--"The Houston Post"

"From the Paperback edition."

Pulitzer Prize-winning author James A. Michener, whose novels hurtle from the far reaches of history to the dark corners of the world, paints an intoxicating portrait of a land whose past and present are as turbulent, fascinating, and colorful as any other on Earth. When an American journalist travels to report on the upcoming duel between two great matadors, he is ultimately swept up in the dramatic story of his own Mexican ancestry--from the brilliance and brutality of the ancients, to the iron fist of the invading Spaniards, to modern Mexico, fighting through dust and bloodshed to build a nation upon the ashes of revolution. Architectural splendors, frenzied bullfights, horrific human sacrifice: Michener weaves them all into an epic human story that ranks with the best of his beloved bestselling novels.
Praise for "Mexico"
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"Michener the storyteller at his finest . . . There are splendid and authentic scenes in the "plaza de toros "that are as dramatic as any written by Ernest Hemingway or Barnaby Conrad."--"The New York Times Book Review"
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"Astounding . . . fast-moving, intriguing . . . Michener is back in huge, familiar form with "Mexico.""--Los Angeles "Daily News"
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"An enthralling story . . . Michener artfully combines the history of Mexico with the art of bullfighting, teaching the reader about both and telling a grand story at the same time."--"St. Louis Post-Dispatch"
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"A novel of epic proportions, abounding in visual and historical detail."--"Richmond Times-Dispatch"

"From the Paperback edition."

James A. 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. From the Java-born Van Doorn family tree springs two great branches: one nurtures lush vineyards, the other settles the interior to become the first Trekboers and Afrikaners. The Nxumalos, inhabitants of a peaceful village unchanged for centuries, unite warrior tribes into the powerful Zulu nation. And the wealthy Saltwoods are missionaries and settlers who join the masses to influence the wars and politics that ravage a nation. Rivalries and passions spill across the land of "The Covenant, " a story of courage and heroism, love and loyalty, and cruelty and betrayal, as generations fight to forge a new world.
Praise for "The Covenant"
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"A prodigious endeavor . . . Nowhere else could an American reader unfamiliar with South Africa get so full an understanding of its problems in so engaging a form."--"The New York Times Book Review"

"From the Paperback edition."

In this magnificent historical novel, James A. Michener masterfully combines fact and fiction to present America’s richest, most expansive and diversified state. Spanning four and a half centuries, this monumental saga charts the epic history of Texas, from its Spanish roots in the age of the conquistadors, to its modern-day American character, shaped by oil and industry. A stunning achievement by a literary master, Texas is a tale of violence and conflict, patriotism and statesmanship, growth and development. Among Michener’s finely drawn cast of characters, emotional and political alliances are made and broken; loyalties are established over the course of Texas’s remarkable history, only to be betrayed by the expansion of wealth and industry. With Michener as our guide, this novel is as exciting as it is informative.

The Bridge at Andau is James A. Michener at his most gripping, the classic nonfiction account of a doomed uprising as searing and unforgettable as any of his bestselling novels. For five brief, glorious days in the autumn of 1956, the Hungarian revolution gave its people a glimpse at a different kind of future--until, at four o'clock in the morning on a Sunday in November, the citizens of Budapest woke to the shattering sound of Russian tanks ravaging their streets. The revolution was over. But freedom beckoned in the form of a small footbridge at Andau, on the Austrian border. By an accident of history it became, for a few harrowing weeks, one of the most important crossings in the world as the soul of a nation fled across its unsteady planks.

In this sweeping novel, James A. Michener chronicles eight tumultuous centuries as three Polish families live out their destinies. The Counts Lubonski, the petty nobles Bukowksi, and the peasants Buk are at some times fiercely united, at others tragically divided. With an inspiring tradition of resistance to brutal invaders, from the barbarians to the Nazis, and a heritage of pride that burns through eras of romantic passion and courageous solidarity, their common story reaches a breathtaking culmination in the historic showdown between the ruthless Communists and rebellious farmers of the modern age. Like the heroic land that is its subject, "Poland "teems with vivid events, unforgettable characters, and the unfolding drama of an entire nation.
Praise for "Poland"
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"Engrossing . . . a page-turner in the grand Michener tradition."--"The Washington Post"
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"A Michener epic is far more than a bedtime reader, it's an experience. "Poland "is a monumental effort, a magnificent guide to a better understanding of the country's tribulations."--"Chicago Tribune"
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"Stunning . . . an unmatched overview of Polish history . . . The families themselves come very much alive, and through them, Poland itself."--"USA Today"
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"A titanic documentary novel."--"The Wall Street Journal"

"From the Paperback edition."

"A grand epic."
THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
Master storyteller James A. Michener sweeps us off to the Caribbean, with a magnificent novel that captures the eternal allure of that glittering string of islands and their tumultuous history. Beginning in 1310 and continuing through Columbus's arrival and the bloody slave revolt of Haiti to the rise of Castro, CARIBBEAN carries us through 700 dramatic years in a tale teeming with revolution and romance, slavery and superstition, heartfelt characters and thunderous destinies.
A Dual Main Slection of the Book-of-the-Month Club

"From the Paperback edition."

In Hawaii, Pulitzer Prize–winning author James Michener weaves the classic saga that brought Hawaii’s epic history vividly alive to the American public on its initial publication in 1959, and continues to mesmerize even today.

The volcanic processes by which the Hawaiian Islands grew from the ocean floor were inconceivably slow, and the land remained untouched by man for countless centuries until, little more than a thousand years ago, Polynesian seafarers made the perilous journey across the Pacific and discovered their new home. They lived and flourished in this tropical paradise according to their ancient traditions and beliefs until, in the early nineteenth century, American missionaries arrived, bringing a new creed and a new way of life to a Stone Age society. The impact of the missionaries had only begun to be absorbed when other national groups, with equally different customs, began to migrate in great numbers to the islands. The story of modern Hawaii, and of this novel, is one of how disparate peoples, struggling to keep their identity yet live with one another in harmony, ultimately joined together to build America’s strong and vital fiftieth state.

In this sweeping epic of the northernmost American frontier, James A. Michener guides us across Alaska’s fierce terrain, from the long-forgotten past to the bustling technological present, as his characters struggle for survival. The exciting high points of Alaska’s story, from its brutal prehistory, through the nineteenth century and the American acquisition, to its modern status as America’s thriving forty-ninth state, are brought vividly to life in this remarkable novel: the gold rush; the tremendous growth and exploitation of the salmon industry; the discovery of oil and its social and economic consequences; the difficult construction of the Alcan Highway, which made possible the defense of the territory in World War II. A spellbinding portrait of a human community struggling to establish its place in the world, Alaska traces a bold and majestic history of the enduring spirit of a land and its people.

"Michener's most ambitious work of fiction in theme and scope."
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
"Brilliantly written."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Once again James A. Michener brings history to life with this 400-year saga of America's great bay and its Eastern Shore. Following Edmund Steed and his remarkable family, who parallel the settling and forming of the nation, CHESAPEAKE sweeps readers from the unspoiled world of the Native Americans to the voyages of Captain John Smith, the Revolutionary War, and right up to modern times.


From the Paperback edition.

"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"
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"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"
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"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"

"From the Paperback edition."