High School
Worksheets
James A. Michener, the Born Storyteller
James A. Michener
Reading Comprehension for February 3
If you like to devour savory stories, rich with details and salty characters, you will love James Michener's tales. He has been called a "storytelling phenomenon." It's as easy to keep turning the pages of a Michener novel as it is to eat a large bag of potato chips. Before you know it, you have effortlessly consumed a two-inch thick tome. Only a born storyteller like Michener could inspire that kind of voracious reading!
James A. Michener was born in New York City on February 3, 1907. He was an orphan who was raised by a Quaker widow. When he was fifteen, he began to write a sports column for a local newspaper. He also edited the high school paper. Perhaps it was his uncertainty about his roots that led him to leave home at a young age.
Young James was an adventurer. He hitchhiked all around the country and had visited all but three states by the time he was twenty years old. Maybe his many adventures helped him to later write captivating stories. But James didn't get all of his expertise from his travels. He was an excellent student and attended Swarthmore College on a full scholarship. The future novelist graduated with an English degree and then went to St. Andrew's University in Scotland. He eventually became an Assistant Visiting Professor of History at Harvard University and began editing textbooks for a New York publishing firm.
