# Did "South Pacific" make Michener? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2014, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897 "2014-03-17T02:33:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/21 "2014-03-18T17:10:58Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I enjoyed what little Michener I’ve read (Chesapeake), but my uncle cracked me up with the following: > > “Michener isn’t a writer, he’s a typist.” Truman Capote on Jack Kerouac: “That’s not writing, that’s typing.” Did you think your uncle actually stole your nose, too? ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/22 "2014-03-18T18:24:55Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Did you think your uncle actually stole your nose, too? What the fuck are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/23 "2014-03-18T18:30:34Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > What the fuck are you talking about? I think he’s implying that you’re ignorant and should have known that somebody else said it first. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/24 "2014-03-18T18:34:22Z")
Funny, because it sounded like he’s saying that I’m as gullible as a 4-year-old because I didn’t immediately know the correct source of a literary quote. I figured it was possible that he was swiping someone else’s bit for a quick laugh, but forgive me for not scouring the internet first. I tend to really enjoy EM’s contributions to Cafe Society, which is probably why I was a little taken snack by such a dickish question. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/25 "2014-03-18T18:48:47Z")
Well, not everything he writes is of good quality. Same for Michener, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/26 "2014-03-18T19:17:51Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Funny, because it sounded like he’s saying that I’m as gullible as a 4-year-old because I didn’t immediately know the correct source of a literary quote. I figured it was possible that he was swiping someone else’s bit for a quick laugh, but forgive me for not scouring the internet first. > > I tend to really enjoy EM’s contributions to Cafe Society, which is probably why I was a little taken snack by such a dickish question. Please insert smilie of your choice above, since it wasn’t obvious that I was joking. I’ve noticed that there’s been a trend away from using smilies, presumably because every remark is now assumed to be snark and shouldn’t be taken seriously without an actual death threat involved. Maybe it’s still too early to do without them, though. Feelings are still feelings. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/27 "2014-03-18T19:22:36Z")
I liked the fact that Michener replied to two personal short notes I wrote to him, questions about two of his books. I didn’t like _The Source_ the first time I read it, when I was a teenager without as much education in world and/or religious history. Later I read it again and liked it immensely, to the point where it’s now my second favorite work of his. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/28 "2014-03-18T19:23:19Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Feelings are still feelings. Nothing more than, really. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/29 "2014-03-18T19:41:11Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Please insert smilie of your choice above, since it wasn’t obvious that I was joking. > > I’ve noticed that there’s been a trend away from using smilies, presumably because every remark is now assumed to be snark and shouldn’t be taken seriously without an actual death threat involved. Maybe it’s still too early to do without them, though. Feelings are still feelings. It’s all good. Sorry for being too sensitive. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/30 "2014-03-19T04:46:08Z")
I’ve found Michener to be hit or miss. For example, _Hawaii_, which I read at the time I was moving to that state, was great, but _Mexico_ I found to be a mix of silly (the “present day” chapters) mixed with just okay (the “turn of the century” chapters.) Enjoyed _The Source_ too, but _Mexico_ was cheesy enough that I backed off from Michener after that. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/31 "2014-03-19T05:05:11Z")
Any truth to the rumor that Michener and John Barth were neighbors? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/32 "2014-03-19T05:08:49Z")
_Tales of the South Pacific_ was a fine way for Michener to start his writing career. Even before the musical & the movie–it won a Pulitzer. But, as **Exapno Mapcase** pointed out, the weighty historical epics that came later really “made” his great success. He did considerable research (with help from a team in later years), then crafted multi-generational stories that taught some history–not omitting lashings of sex & violence. (Well, sex & violence have been around for a long time.) I plowed through several in my youth & enjoyed them–although I usually didn’t read them repeatedly. I do love _Iberia_, his personal account of lifelong travels in Spain… ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/33 "2014-03-19T05:11:07Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > True, I think of Michener’s books more as “tomes” than mere “books”. I sort of mentally class Michener, Uris, and Woak together as writers of THICK historical fiction. I personally can’t stand Uris; but consider that the other two “have their moments” – some good, some less so. Have to feel, though, that a mixture of the three at their worst, would be the ultimate nightmare in the fiction line. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/34 "2014-03-19T05:12:48Z")
I remember one of the sign gags on _The Simpsons_ was a banner at a book fair that read something like, “Michener 99¢/lb.” I liked _Chesapeake_ and _Texas_ well enough, but couldn’t get into _Mexico_, and I haven’t gone back to that well since. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/35 "2014-03-19T06:58:27Z")
Centennial’s his best, IMHO. “Me sigh-ox! Me sigh-ox!” (I’m Sioux) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/36 "2014-03-19T14:48:38Z")
> [@vontsira](#): > > I personally can’t stand Uris; but consider that the other two “have their moments” – some good, some less so. Have to feel, though, that a mixture of the three at their worst, would be the ultimate nightmare in the fiction line. To each his own, of course. I was absolutely riveted by _Mila 18_, which led me to binge read everything Uris wrote. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/37 "2014-03-19T17:45:35Z")
Surely, to each his own. That’s the beauty of the fiction scene – we (dis)like what we do, and nobody is objectively right or wrong. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897/38 "2014-03-19T17:51:18Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Centennial’s his best, IMHO. > > “Me sigh-ox! Me sigh-ox!” (I’m Sioux) I’d forgotten that bit from _Centennial_. Interestingly, George MacDonald Fraser in _Flashman and the Redskins_ has a character totally unfamiliar with the American West, coming out with that extreme mispronunciation of “Sioux”. A bit of wondering is prompted, as to whether Fraser pinched for his 1982 novel, this item from Michener’s 1974 one – or whether he thought it up himself, independently. Given Fraser’s extremely fertile imagination, my bet would be for the latter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-south-pacific-make-michener/683897.md?page=1)