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James A. Michener
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Tales of the South Pacific Paperback – September 12, 1984

by James A. Michener (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,064 ratings
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  1. Pulitzer PrizeWinner, 1948
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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
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Fawcett
  4. Publication date
    September 12, 1984
  5. Dimensions
    4.25 x 1 x 6.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0449206521
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0449206522
  8. Lexile measure
    730L
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

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

From the Inside Flap

one of the most remarkable books to come out of the war. Mr. Michener is a born story-teller."
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Winner of the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Enter the exotic world of the South Pacific, meet the men and women caught up in the drama of a big war. The young Marine who falls madly in love with a beautiful Tonkinese girl. Nurse Nellie and her French planter, Emile De Becque. The soldiers, sailors, and nurses playing at war and waiting for love in a tropic paradise.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fawcett; Reissue edition (September 12, 1984)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0449206521
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0449206522
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 730L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 1 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,064 ratings

About the author

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James A. Michener

James A. Michener

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James Albert Michener (/ˈmɪtʃnər/; February 3, 1907 - October 16, 1997) was an American author of more than 40 books, the majority of which were fictional, lengthy family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating solid history. Michener was known for the popularity of his works; he had numerous bestsellers and works selected for Book of the Month Club. He was also known for his meticulous research behind the books.

Michener's novels include Tales of the South Pacific for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948, Hawaii, The Drifters, Centennial, The Source, The Fires of Spring, Chesapeake, Caribbean, Caravans, Alaska, Texas and Poland. His non-fiction works include Iberia, about his travels in Spain and Portugal; his memoir titled The World Is My Home, and Sports in America. Return to Paradise combines fictional short stories with Michener's factual descriptions of the Pacific areas where they take place.

His first book was adapted as the popular Broadway musical South Pacific by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, and later as a film by the same name, adding to his financial success.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo byRobert Wilson [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
1,064 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the storylines wonderful and offer a great understanding of life during that time and place. They also appreciate the book design and humor. Opinions differ on readability, with some finding it quite readable and easy-going, while others say it's unreadable.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

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StorylinePlotBook designHumorReadability
22 customers mention "Storyline"22 positive0 negative

Customers find the storyline wonderful, excellent, and exciting. They also say the book has lots of interesting, thoughtful chapters.

"...And the narrative is not relentless; it is a complex series of stories with inter-related characters who some how come to populate the entire book...." Read more

"Tales of the South Pacific is a wonderful series of short stories centered around sailors, marines and soldiers serving in combat in the South..." Read more

"...A really great storyteller. Keep your ipad handy and check any references in Wikipedia or Google Maps to add real depth to your experience!" Read more

"...Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! His handling of plot, characterization, and description is excellent...." Read more

20 customers mention "Plot"20 positive0 negative

Customers find the plot offers a great understanding of life during that time and place. They also appreciate the good details and captures the reader's imagination. Readers also say the narrative history is culturally insightful and the characterizations are varied, full, and complete. They say the plot appears very real.

"...His characterizations are varied, full, and complete. The work contains strong elements of humor...." Read more

"...his ambition in this book is more intimate and personal, and more true, like literature is true, with difficult to..." Read more

"...This book, a collection of "tales", is so much more evocative. Turn off the TV. Read this!" Read more

"..."With The Old Breed" by E B Sledge, it does have valid and important insights...." Read more

11 customers mention "Book design"8 positive3 negative

Customers like the book design, saying it looks great and the historical pictures are stunning.

"...it produces a serene melancholy, yet other times yield moments of breathtaking beauty, and in others there is horror and bloodshed...." Read more

"...He writes stories that paint word pictures so vivid that your mind's eye can see the colors of the South Pacific and grow to know the men in the..." Read more

"...details myself, and also the embellishment is often poorly done and ends up reducing your trust in the author and..." Read more

"This little book is a wonderful look at what many marines and Seabees experienced during WWII...." Read more

5 customers mention "Humor"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book contains strong elements of humor and entertaining. They also say it's informative and a personal look at Allies.

"...The work contains strong elements of humor. In fact, it shifts its emotions constantly and surprisingly...." Read more

"...story with lots of exciting, interesting, thoughtful chapters and gentle humor...." Read more

"...Stories from the heart - some funny, some poignant and some thought provoking. Got it from a used book dealer through Amazon...." Read more

"...It is informative as well as entertaining, a personal look at Allies, the natives, and the enemy, the affects and sensitivity of war, triumph and..." Read more

20 customers mention "Readability"11 positive9 negative

Customers are mixed about the readability. Some mention the book inside is fine and readable, with fascinating writing. However, others say the Kindle version is unreadable, poorly formatted, and underlined throughout.

"...His characterizations are varied, full, and complete. The work contains strong elements of humor...." Read more

"...That is tosay, Ruhe gives you the skeleton but it's quite dry to read...." Read more

"...American Servicemen about World War II, this work is often dark and complicated. Of course, so is war...." Read more

"How did this win a prize it was sooooo boring. I only read 23% before I gave up and I never give up on books" Read more

Good hammock material...
5 out of 5 stars

Good hammock material...

...when combined with Stevenson, on location.
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Top reviews from the United States

P. Cornelius
5.0 out of 5 stars Beguiling and Alluring Tales of the South Seas During Wartime
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2018
Verified Purchase
Michener's best work. Every fault attributed to him in his later work is absent from Tales of the South Pacific. His characterizations are varied, full, and complete. The work contains strong elements of humor. In fact, it shifts its emotions constantly and surprisingly. And the narrative is not relentless; it is a complex series of stories with inter-related characters who some how come to populate the entire book. It is a masterpiece. And it is probably the best retelling ever of World War II in the South Pacific.

Bus Adams, Tony Fry, Bill Harbison, Comdr. Hoag, Bloody Mary, Liat, and LaTouche. All are memorable characters you cannot dismiss from your mind. Add to that, the voice of the narrator, and you get a picture of a tropical paradise, the South Pacific, in the midst of turmoil. At times it is boring, other times it produces a serene melancholy, yet other times yield moments of breathtaking beauty, and in others there is horror and bloodshed. Michener has created an entire world: America at war in the Pacific. And he presents the entire picture: we go from the rear echelons, the supply depots, the emergency safe harbors, the evacuated zones, the places recently conquered, the places being conquered, and the final resting place of the men who will never return from the war.

Finally, there is Michener's unique ending. Once again he rounds up all his characters. This time he assesses those who fell and those who survived. Because we have followed along so closely, we readers also feel the impact of lives suddenly removed from all their aspirations, all their wants, all their loves and desires. We are the narrator--the ones who survived and who were tasked with building a postwar America.
52 people found this helpful
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Alan C Duncan
5.0 out of 5 stars BRILLIANT PULITZER PRIZE WINNING - FIRST NOVEL BY MICHENER
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2024
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At age of 40 US Navy veteran James Michener pens a masterpiece. It was the book the SOUTH PACIFIC was based upon. It's a tour de force.
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James French
4.0 out of 5 stars Marvelous Book, Required Reading for all Americans.
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2013
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Students of the American character, both in our values and our history and traditions, are without excuse in their understanding of what it means to be an American if they have never read James Michener's "South Pacific." More than an excercise in military history, it has to be read to understand how the American will has shaped the modern world. "South Pacific" is also a seminal influence on the American musical theater, full of timeless melodies and emotions, with the 1949 musical with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, music by Richard Rogers, and book and direction by Joshua Logan.
The book explains how dismal the outlook was for the Americans, Australians, and New Zealanders in the early days of 1942 at the outset of the Pacific War against the Imperial Empire of Japan. It continues through 1943 when things have at last started to look more optimistic. South Pacific is full of Michener's own views against bias, and his vision of a people unfettered by the prejudices of their parochial backgrounds. The Broadway musical had the stars Enzio Pinza and Mary Martin in the leading Tony awared winning roles, and the show won ten Tony's; becoming the only Broadway show to win all four awards for acting. The 1958 film version with Rossano Brazzi and Mitzi Gaynor in the leads, along with John Kerr, Ray Walston, and Juanita Hall is a must see.
I don't know how well young people can understand the depth of the adult emotions that fill South Pacific from one end to the other, but for those interested in courage, fortitude, love that goes beyond devotion, and the trimuph of the American will when it had to triumph, I must say you need to know and appreciate "South Pacific."
Jim French, Dakota, Illinois, USA January 3, 2013
8 people found this helpful
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Kevin Trowbridge
5.0 out of 5 stars More "literary" than Hawaii, as well as more revealing of the author.
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2014
Verified Purchase
TALES OF THE SOUTH PACFIC by James Michener is a rare book which communicates what it felt like to be involved in WWII.
The budding genius author Michener had the privileged viewpoint of being "embedded" with the Navy during the war. He
then lightly fictionalizes, organizes, and distills his experiences into 19 highly varied short stories which communicate
something about what it felt like, and what it meant.

I am fascinated by WWII and, have read probably a hundred books by historians, memoirs by soldiers and sailors, and so
forth. Those are wonderful books but, they are nonfiction and fairly dry. They tell you a lot about what happened and
why, but not much about how it felt.

For example, take WAR IN THE BOATS by William Ruhe. This is a WWII Pacific submarine memoir and an exact contemporary of
TOTSP. The difference is, Ruhe is not a novelist. He tells you as best he can, what it was like but, one must be a
mature reader to project context, feelings, and meaning onto the (indisputably incredible) story he tells. That is to
say, Ruhe gives you the skeleton but it's quite dry to read.

As I get older I often prefer more facts and less embellishment but, that's because I am better able to fill in the
details myself, and also the embellishment is often poorly done and ends up reducing your trust in the author and
detracting from the story.

Michener is talented enough that, he embellishes terrifically and, is becoming one of my special authors:

I first read Michener's HAWAII during a trip to that isle. Intrigued, I dug into Michener's origins and discovered
TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC, published in 1947. It won the Pulitzer Prize and was adapted by Rogers & Hammerstein for
the musical SOUTH PACIFIC.

After this amazing beginning Michener went on to become one of the 20th century's most prolific authors, writing huge
historical epics (HAWAII was the first).

I found TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC to be more literary than HAWAII. Whereas Hawaii was a "historical epic genre novel",
his ambition in this book is more intimate and personal, and more true, like literature is true, with difficult to
express real human situations, and great breadth.

Michener, an orphan raised by a Quaker, made very good use of his fortune, to the point where in wikipedia I read:
"Michener became a major philanthropist, donating more than US$100 million to educational and writing institutions."

I haven't read his other epics yet although I think THE SOURCE may be next on my list.
26 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Marc Fauvel
5.0 out of 5 stars Great storytelling
Reviewed in Canada on October 25, 2023
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Great book and author
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Angel Himmel
5.0 out of 5 stars Stilvolles Schreiben
Reviewed in Germany on July 23, 2023
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Stilvolles Schreiben auf Englisch!
One person found this helpful
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JLF
5.0 out of 5 stars Not the book of the musical film but .....
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2023
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....A good set of tales and gives a fascinating possible insights into how "tales" became the familiar musical.
I Recommend
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gabriella palomba
5.0 out of 5 stars Regalo gradito
Reviewed in Italy on February 4, 2019
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Regalo di natale per mio marito. Molto apprezzato
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Quantum Scar
3.0 out of 5 stars Great Book and great stories ruined by crappy layout
Reviewed in Australia on April 1, 2022
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The book and stories is worth 5 stars but the Kindle book is delivered with the entire text underlined, which cant be removed through settings. So while you can still read it, the underlined text is a strain to read and makes the journey a little less rnjoyable
One person found this helpful
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