European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 21, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse N t Start writing until i was 40 must have meant there i a kind of blockage there. Certainly i have All the he Clural attributes that go into the making of a writer i begins at say 24 or 25." when he did finally go on his own about the time he a listed his second Book fires of Spring in 1949, Lor magazines fiercely sought articles from Hener. Among them was Reader s digest they offered me a free roving commission to where i wanted to go at any time for anything and had to do was give them first refusal says Hener. It made a tremendous 1 anywhere i wanted to go was often Apia. The yes were sown for Michener s life Long love affair with $ Region during his stay in the South Pacific during Iwar. His books on the Overall Region include the1 Caol Asia 1951 Sayonara 1954the Bridges Toko ii 1953 and Hawaii. Osaka is the conclusion of his love affair. I am really interested in the North Pacific As a it Erpole to the because of the extance of the Arctic regions and the very close Allon shop of Asia and North America of Russia and United slates and of Siberia and Alaska he says do cheer had two Brief marriages before Marl. His i was to Patty Koon a University of Virginia student 935, and the other was to Vange Nord an aspiring Ler in 1948. I was divorced twice always As a consequence of says Mtchener who was on the front lines As a mails in the korean conflict. Those . The first one was Only that. The second that and maybe other 1 according to John p. Hayes biography of Mtchener a other factors were that Mtchener was working the time something that proved especially difficult � a Young woman who also wanted a writing career of own. Jul a think anyone who Anas known divorce has known a York times photo cattle than a pasture with an Oil pump in Chico tax of about 75 Milet North Watt of Dallat. Michener misses the heart of Texas by Christopher Wienandt staff writer James a. Michener has written one Book to Many. Texas is that s Long that goes without saying an Boring. Michener s simplistic singsong writing might work in a fourth Grade history textbook but it does t exactly make for exciting Reading. But the worst of it is that for All the time and Effort he put into the Book Mtchener has missed the Point. He has failed to discover the heart of Texas. Mtchener did t just Waltz into the state by Chance. The pity is that former gov. Bill Clements invited him. Clements thought it might be Nice if he could get a heavyweight like Michener to put together a Book As monumental As the state for its 150th birthday. Bad idea Bill. Judging by the results Michener likes Texas a lot but he does t think much of the people who live there. His tribute to the Beauty and wildness of the land is rhapsodic. But his characters come out of dime store novels and cheap to shows. A wimpy Young settler grows up to be one of the biggest liars in the state and one of the biggest political forces of the 19th Century. A scholarly Young girl from Michigan moves to Texas and decides her highest calling is to become a Baton twirler. A philanthropist wants to give the state the Best darn gift it has Ever seen so he founds Are you ready a museum of sports Art. Young and old Rich and poor the most memorable characters in the Book Are lowbrow clods. Texas is divided into two alternating sections. In one Mtchener creates a special governor s commission whose purpose is to study the teaching of Texas history to the state s students. The other weaves Michener s historical web inventing fictional characters ancestors of the members of the governor s commission is this Hokey or what to populate the years and motivate the events that shaped Texas history. But these cardboard characters Are a travesty and an insult. It s obvious that Michener and his researchers have spent countless hours researching the history of the state. Too Many hours evidently to get to know its people. The Stalwart Pioneer woman the disaffected mexican band to the Wheeler dealer oilman Michener s characters make the cast of Dallas look like refugees from the school of naturalism. The member of hit governor s commission Are the worst of the lot patchworks of the Rich and famous who entertained the author while he was writing the Book. They re a shallow cantankerous opinionated Bunch who know far less about their state than any real life texan Ever would. When the group travels to West Texas for instance these natives Are overcome by their first sight of the Aust rely Beautiful Yucca Plant in Bloom. Trouble is yuccas Are As common As weeds All Over the state. Besides no texan would Ever admit being that impressed about anything in another chapter a commission member comes to the remarkable realization that me Sulle Wood is Good for barbecues no. This is like saying a lifelong new yorker has just noticed the City has a subway. Texas covers roughly 500 years of the state s history from the first Spanish explorers through the settlement and civilization of Mexico. Texas Independence and statehood right on Down to the booms and busts of the 80s. The Book is packed with history some of it fresh and informative. Michener gives Spanish Indian and mexican cultures due credit for their profound influence on the state s character facets that most traditional Texas histories minimize or ignore. Thai Fine. But when he takes the Liberty of making up people and places Michener goes too far. One sure Way to rile a texan is to play fast and Loose with the state s history. Historical fiction May be Fine anywhere else but not Texas. It s literary fraud to have people who never existed playing decisive roles in the state s history. Texans know darn Well that no one named Yancey Quimper captured Santa Anna after the Battle of san Jacinto or even took part in it. No one named Emma Rusk saved the Texas longhorn from extinction. And Mtchener has invented locations in the state that just Aren t there. Every texan knows the state has 254 counties and Larklin county in t one of them. But Michener s worst errors Are in fact not in judgment. The diatribe by a fictional Church of Christ Clergyman is full of mistakes that no one associated with Church would make he gets the name of Abilene Christian University wrong for one . Mtchener refers to House majority Leader Jim Wright of fort Worth As the majority whip. His account of Charles Whitman s rampage from the top of the University of Texas Tower in 1966 is Rife with misinformation. Combine Michener s factual fallings and his Gall in making up people and places and you be got a Book without credibility. If Mtchener can t be trusted to get his facts straight if he can t be trusted not to toy with history How in the name of Stephen f. Austin can he be trusted at All Wyenandt who refuses to admit he s from Waco is a professional former texan. The stars and stripes Pale 15
