- Mass Market Paperback: 1038 pages
- Publisher: Fawcett; 1st Ballantine Books Ed edition (1 April 1987)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0449214192
- ISBN-13: 978-0449214190
- Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 3.8 x 17.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 650,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
"Michener is America's best writer, and he proves it once again in CENTENNIAL."
THE PITTSBURGH PRESS
A stunning panorama of the West, CENTENNIAL is an enthralling celebration of our country, brimming with the glory and the greatness of the American past that only bestselling author James Michener could bring to stunning life. From the Native Americans, the migrating white men and women, the cowboys, and the foreigners, it is a story of trappers, traders, homesteaders, gold seekers, ranchers, and hunters--all caught up in the dramatic events and violent conflicts that shaped the destiny of our legendary West.
THE PITTSBURGH PRESS
A stunning panorama of the West, CENTENNIAL is an enthralling celebration of our country, brimming with the glory and the greatness of the American past that only bestselling author James Michener could bring to stunning life. From the Native Americans, the migrating white men and women, the cowboys, and the foreigners, it is a story of trappers, traders, homesteaders, gold seekers, ranchers, and hunters--all caught up in the dramatic events and violent conflicts that shaped the destiny of our legendary West.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:School & Library Binding
Michener's majestic and sweeping history of the American West is brought to life in this epic tale of people and places thrown together by breathtaking endeavor. In Centennial Michener manages spectacularly to weave episodes of modern fictional history from the tumultuous geological events that shaped the area of Colorado millions of years previous. By telling the entire history of the American West, from the geological upheavals that formed the New Rockies, from the dinosaurs and early mammals, from the early native American inhabitants, from the fur trappers and traders, from the cowboys and from the insidious Indian wars, right through to modern man's violent manipulation of the land, Centennial is as much an evocative triumph of a novel as it is an education. The characters will become part of your life as you read about them and their adventures. You will also feel a sad sense of loss at their passing. As you read through Centennial you will gather the pace of nostalgia and the fiction will stay with as if it were fact. As for me, I read this book three times as a teenager and am now reading it again with the same fresh anticipation more than twenty years later. A true blockbuster, a story with soul, from a master storyteller and an amazing book that you shouldn't miss.
42 of 44 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Centennial is an epic tale, a saga of the old west on a huge scale. Set in the fictional town of Centennial, Colorado, on the banks of the Platte river, it is as much a story of the region as of the town. Indeed the location is a microcosm of the wild west, chosen for the richness of its history by the author James Michener, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The novel covers several thousand years, first describing the geology of the area in rich detail, then painting vivid and unforgettable pictures of its inhabitants: from the first animals, through the indians, trappers, settlers, cowboys, and farmers, to the present day.
No-one who reads Centennial will ever forget its characters: Lame Beaver, the proud Arapaho brave, who counted coup on his enemies many times, introduced the horse to his people, and retained his dignity even as the world he knew disappeared; Alexander McKeag, the solitary trapper existing alone amidst huge forbidding landscapes, dwarfed by the surrounding peaks, wracked with guilt and angst; Colonel Frank Skimmerhorn, bigot and fanatic, hater of all indians indiscriminately, and egregious hypocrite; and Levi Zendt, the outcast Amish youth who sets forth on the Oregon Trail to seek his fortune. I first read Centennial in my early teens, and I have returned to it many times - these people are as real to me as the person living next door.
Though a novel in its own right, Centennial can be regarded as a series of independent but connected stories, each story set one or two generations after its predecessor. Major characters from early chapters sometimes appear later on, much older, as minor characters; and mysteries, remaining enigmatic through the centuries, are solved hundreds of pages later. Cast from the same mould as Michener's Texas and Hawaii, placing fictional characters in and around historical events, Centennial excels by developing its characters more deeply and more believably. We share their lives and thoughts and struggles, but ultimately we realise they are just grains of sand caught up in the great whirlwind of human affairs - Michener's true gift is in showing us the mortality of man and his true place in the order of nature.
Sadly the pace and the excitement do decline as the book progresses. Modern history is by nature less dramatic than ancient history simply as a function of its proximity. Nevertheless this is a book which can change the way you perceive the human psyche and the world around us. At once dramatic and soulful, Centennial can change your life.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:School & Library Binding
This is an epic story requiring staying power as it long and involved. It covers the history and eventual birth of the town of Centennial and the vast area around that part of Colorado over two hundred years seen through the stories of the Indians, trappers, pioneers, cowboys, farmers, and everyone else who came to and through that state. You get swept along by the pace up to about the Depression and from there tails off a little to the present(1970's). You must read on to the end where explanations are revealed about the past.
I have read this book twice and saw the TV series in the late seventies and I have now just received a 12(all regions)DVD set of the videos (e-bay) and have just started watching thae whole series (about 20hrs) again.
I have read this book twice and saw the TV series in the late seventies and I have now just received a 12(all regions)DVD set of the videos (e-bay) and have just started watching thae whole series (about 20hrs) again.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An Epic Masterpiece
I watched , and enjoyed , the television mini-series that was made of Centennial many years ago . Since then it had sort of been on the backburner of stuff to be read sometime in... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Terry J
Centennial - slow but sure
Centennial was a slow starter and had to read at least a quarter of the book to get interested. I have to say that the end result was a really good read and shows a part of the USA... Read more
Published 4 months ago by watty
Michener at his best
I have read over the years nmost of this authors work.However my complaint is that I
have a Kindle but cannot get titles like Caravans or The Source or any of the others... Read more
have a Kindle but cannot get titles like Caravans or The Source or any of the others... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Rossi
Centennial
This is an excellent story which I have been trying to purchase for a long time as a gift for my Husband. Amazon was most helpful in getting me the book.Many thanks
Published 7 months ago by marion
Centennial
James Michener had a great mind,he was also an academic and educator.
This should be compulsory reading from the age of 16 years.Its celebrates Life! Read more
This should be compulsory reading from the age of 16 years.Its celebrates Life! Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mummsy
Centennial
This book was written to commemorate the US Bicentennial in 1976 and is a phenominal book in its depth and in the story telling capabilities of James A Michener. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mrs. Marilyn Bennett
Centennial
I have read this a number of times in the past few years and as a result my own fell to pieces thank heavens I got my replacement from Amazon
Published on 25 April 2010 by Jeanette Kent
My favorite epic novel!
James Michener has done it again. Although I am a fan of his books in general, this one is the best yet. Don't let the details in the start of the book deter you. Read more
Published on 23 Jun 2008 by Ann Alexander
Centennial by far a great read
Its a brilliant book. But answering a question raised by a reviewer last year, the TV series is available on video in the states.
Published on 11 Aug 2004 by Mr. C. P. Robson
best book i ever read
loved this book am reading it again. but i would love to see the t v series shown years ago.anyone know if it on video. Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2003 by carolyn hoss
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