James A. Michenerย was one of the worldโs most popular writers, the author of more than forty books of fiction and nonfiction, including the Pulitzer Prizeโwinningย Tales of the South Pacific,ย the bestselling novelsย The Source, Hawaii, Alaska, Chesapeake, Centennial, Texas, Caribbean,ย andย Caravans,and the memoirย 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 Americaโs highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1977, and an award from the Presidentโs Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 1983 for his commitment to art in America. Michener died in 1997 at the age of ninety.