DWD's Reviews

Published in 1991 by Tor. This is an odd effort in many ways. Coming in at just 211 pages of text (plus about 20 pages of appendices), this is a tiny Michener book. It is even more tiny when you consider that 28 pages of this book is a forward by Michener and about 20 pages of the book are taken up with blank pages between chapters and illustrations. This Michener paperback was published in 1991 by Tor, a publishing house more well-known for its sci-fi and fantasy offerings. I would imagine that they just wanted to cash in on the Michener name since he was in the midst of a real hit streak with such books as Alaska , Caribbean and  Poland becoming best-sellers. Tor calls this book a novel, although only a few pages really qualify as a novel, with inserted character dialogue that was most likely created by Michener. The rest of it is really best described as a comparative biography. While not the best of historical works, "The Eagle and the Raven" provides a compari...

A chance to get to know a bit of Michener's personality Published in 2007 by University Press of Colorado 208 pages. I am a huge fan of Michener's sweeping epics. Some look at those gigantic books as drudgery, but that is only because they have not opened one up and read it. I've read all but two - I own them but I'm saving them back like a wine connisseur would save back a couple of his favorites. I know these books will be great and I know that once I read them there will be no more new Micheners for me. James Michener (1907-1997) Vavra's book focuses on their mutual interest in Spain and Spanish culture, especially bullfighting, Spanish dance and the Spanish countryside. Vavra met several famous authors, actors and personalities while in Spain in the 1960s. He mentions them, but it rarely acquires the character of a name-dropping book. Mostly, he uses those others as a point of comparison to Michener, and Michener comes off very well in ...

Michener's take on South Africa James Michener (1907-1997) Michener's true epics are always worth the time to read. The Covenant is no exception. Michener's take on South Africa and its history is an honest attempt to give some perspective on one of the more complex histories that this history teacher has encountered. The book starts out strong (my edition was the two-volume hardback). The first volume was vintage Michener, but the second one dragged. Perhaps it was because the subject matter became more and more depressing. With the final 200 pages or so being about Apartheid, it's hard to find something to cheer about. In a way, Michener's book seems incomplete - he hints that Apartheid could no longer stand - he gives a prediction that it would end by about the year 2000. Turns out, he was just about right, but the book feels like it does not have a proper ending. If you are pondering a Michener book and have not read them all (person...