I think the bottom line is that if you get through a childhood like mine, it's not at all bad. Obviously, you come out a pretty tough turkey, and you…

- James A. Michener

A poet sees things in two ways: First, as a child who never saw it before, and Second, as a dying man who will never see it again.

- James A. Michener

The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his informa…

- James A. Michener

We are never prepared for what we expect.

- James A. Michener

I was born to a woman I never knew and raised by another who took in orphans. I do not know my background, my lineage, my biological or cultural heri…

- James A. Michener

I'm not a very good writer, but I'm an excellent rewriter.

- James A. Michener

About a billion years ago, long before the continents had separated to define the ancient oceans, or their own outlines had been determined, a small …

- James A. Michener

An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it.

- James A. Michener

A writer can make a fortune in America, but he can't make a living.

- James A. Michener