The Fires of Spring, James A. Michener
The Fires of Spring, James A. Michener
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The Fires of Spring

Author: James A. Michener

Narrator: Larry McKeever

Unabridged: 24 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/08/2015

Synopsis

An intimate early novel from James A. Michener, now remembered as the beloved master of the historical epic, The Fires of Spring unfolds with the bittersweet drama of a boy’s perilous journey into manhood. David Harper is an orphan, seemingly doomed to loneliness and poverty. As an adolescent con artist and petty thief, David spends his days grifting at an amusement park, the place where he first learns about women and the mysteries of love. Soon he discovers that his longing to embrace the world is stronger than the harsh realities that constrain him. Featuring autobiographical touches from Michener’s own life story, The Fires of Spring is more than a novel: It’s a rich slice of American life, brimming with wisdom, longing, and compassion.
 
Praise for The Fires of Spring
 
“A warm-hearted, readable story, crammed with lively incident and remarkable characters.”—The Atlantic
 
“Heartfelt . . . immensely readable . . . Michener is a born writer.”—The New York Times
 
“Michener is a gifted storyteller.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Brilliantly done.”—Library Journal

About The Author

James A. Michener was one of the world’s most popular writers, the author of more than forty books of fiction and nonfiction, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning Tales of the South Pacific, the bestselling novels The Source, Hawaii, Alaska, Chesapeake, Centennial, Texas, Caribbean, and Caravans,and the memoir 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 America’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1977, and an award from the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities in 1983 for his commitment to art in America. Michener died in 1997 at the age of ninety.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Paul on April 02, 2024

The first thing you should know about James Michener’s 1949 novel The Fires of Spring is that it is, in many ways, unlike the massive research-based historical-novel epics for which this best-selling author is best-known. The second thing you should know is that, because it seems to proceed primaril......more

Goodreads review by Moonkiszt on December 31, 2019

I love JA Michener's writing and his books. I even overlook the formulaic way most of his works are built because he does it with grace and difference and hits all the right notes. But this one. . . . First - I'd never heard of it, and it wasn't named after a place/tribe/community/land mass. What?? t......more

Goodreads review by Adam on March 23, 2012

Probably my favorite Michener novel yet (I've read about 5, I think). This is the ambling, sometimes rambling, story of a young man's experience growing up in the midst of the development of the notion of Americana (I can't think of a better way to put it--it's not the typical American experience, n......more

Goodreads review by Josiah on January 26, 2020

"Maybe books are best, because you don't have to have money to read... A man can travel all over the world and come back the same kind of fool he was when he started. You can't do that with books." —Old Daniel, The Fires of Spring, P. 42 One might wonder after reading this book if the great James A. M......more

Goodreads review by Chris on May 11, 2022

My Dad gave this to me to read when I was sick for a few weeks in middle school. IT IS MY FAV BOOK OF ALL TIME. I have read it at least 4x. I have given away at least 15 copies over the years. If you have read some James Michener, do not use that as a barometer for this book. I think it might have been......more

Quotes

“A warm-hearted, readable story, crammed with lively incident and remarkable characters.”—The Atlantic
 
“Heartfelt . . . immensely readable . . . Michener is a born writer.”—The New York Times
 
“Michener is a gifted storyteller.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Brilliantly done.”—Library Journal

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