Rating: 
Summary: my favorite novel
Review: I consider this book, and I have read many, to be my favorite novel. The characters come to life so viviidly that you seem to truly care about them as if you knew them. the book exudes Michener's love for the subject. It is also very informative while it entertains. I have recommended this book to numerous friends who have an interest in the west. The reader gets the sense of what it was really like to live through the 19th and into the 20th centuries. The audiobook, which I have also in my library, was skillfully abridged so as not to make the storyline difficult to follow, as happens with many audio abridgments.
Rating: 
Summary: Centennial is more than a book!
Review: I first read Centennial when the mini-series came out. Back then the cover art showed character faces. Sadly it's been so long I can't remember the book. But the cover art surely rated 3 stars back then. In reading people's reviews I thought, didn't anyone ever see the mini-series or try to buy the 12 chapter videos? I believe the book can be better appreciated if the film version can be bought so you can see the characters come alive!
Rating:
Summary: Michener at his best
Review: I grew to love Michener, when I read Hawaii, Mexico, and The Novel. I lost a little faith in him when I attempted to enjoy the Covenant, Source, and Journey. Fortunately, I'm glad to say that Michener redeemed himself with the Centennial. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a wonderful novel that is as sweeping as his best works are. Finally, the biggest weakness of his writing, binding all the characters together, is gone because the span of time is relatively short. Even though some events seem hurried and never fully explained, Michener is still poetic and fills the novel with startling images and original characters. I especially liked the final fourth of the book. Michener foreshadowed what would happen in the first few pages, but he took sweet time getting there. The Wendells and the Grebes are the most intriguing characters in the book, so be patient until you read about them. The only gripe I have is Michener's knack of cheating his readers by providing an interesting portrait of a character and then, suddenly, drop them out of the picture: e.g., Elly and Soledad. Overall, he is at his best here and I would rank it third on my list of his best works, behind Hawaii and Mexico.
Rating:
Summary: Well written - Easy to read
Review: I have read most of Michener's books. Although not into his theories on evolution and the time table of events (prehistoric)as chapter two covered in his book Centennial, the story line and history of the Platte River, the American Indians, and settlers moving west was certainly entertaining. A worth reading book. I'm wondering if the miniseries, "Centennial" is worth renting knowing what Hollywood does to books.
Rating:
Summary: I just can't seem to enjoy books with a western theme.
Review: I read almost exactly half of this book. What I read I found enjoyable. Unfortunitaly I have other reading interests (fantasy, horror) that just don't make it worth my while to read a very long western style book. I give high praise for James Michener. I'm sure that I will read more of him in the future. But for now I must put this book aside to focus on other reading interests that are more enjoyable to my tastes. "Centennial" is a good book, its just that after reading half of it I've decided to move on to other things.
Rating: 
Summary: Horribly Boring
Review: I read the Source and loved it and bought almost every Michener book written. This book made me regret that rash decision. The storyline is not nearly as interesting nor as awe inspiring. Even worse I do not care about sheep ranching or irrigation, and certainly not as much as this book requires. I felt like I was reading a science text book and not a novel.
Rating:
Summary: Michener makes history come alive
Review: I read this book on a road trip west. What a treat to visit Scott's Bluff and see the remnants of the Oregon Trail after reading Michener's vivid account of the trip people made. To see a few remaining buffalo after his descriptions of buffalo massacres for sport in the 1800's. To see the dinosaur bones and gold mines that are also woven into his story. We didn't plan it this way, but so many things we experienced in the West were woven into this story it was truly amazing. It was an enriching way to experience history, to have (fictional) personal stories layered on top of true events. For me it is much more memorable than any non-fiction history I have read.
Rating: 
Summary: An epic novel of the West
Review: I wish Michener would have lived long enough to write a book on California. I love his format of taking a specific geographic area and recounting the history of it. And in Centennial he does just that in truly grand fashion. This book has everything from dinosaurs to cattle drives
Rating:
Summary: A Sprawling Epic of the American West
Review: I've been fortunate enough to read several of James A. Michener's works, and CENTENNIAL is by far my favorite from this gifted author. In fact, I've read this book twice, which is no small task, given its 900-plus pages. CENTENNIAL is about a fictitious town of the same name in Colorado. The town is not nestled in the majestic Rockies, as one might expect, but instead is located out on the vast, open, treeless, windswept plains that run down from the eastern slopes of the mountains. It is here, at the nexus of two radically diverse land masses, that Michener gives the reader a comprehensive history of the area, from the formation of the land and its rivers, to its prehistoric inhabitants, to its early settlers, to its subsequent clash of various cultures. The plains Indians, fur trappers, pioneer settlers, soldiers, ranchers, dry land and irrigation farmers, and the hearty descendents of these diverse groups--all are depicted vividly and weaved into an engrossing story by an author with a keen eye for detail. CENTENNIAL furnishes an impressive assortment of powerful, unforgettable characters: Lame Beaver, an Arapaho chieftan; Pasquinel, a French fur trapper; pioneer Levi Zendt; trail boss R.J. Poteet; ranchers Jim and Charlotte Lloyd; and many more. Through these characters the reader is given an epic tale of the American West, a tale that is beautiful, compelling, profound, and often tragic. CENTENNIAL is higly recommended to any student of the American West, or to any lover of epic literature.
Rating:
Summary: A Sprawling Epic of the American West
Review: I've been fortunate enough to read several of James A. Michener's works, and CENTENNIAL is by far my favorite from this gifted author. In fact, I've read this book twice, which is no small task, given its 900-plus pages. CENTENNIAL is about a fictitious town of the same name in Colorado. The town is not nestled in the majestic Rockies, as one might expect, but instead is located out on the vast, open, treeless, windswept plains that run down from the eastern slopes of the mountains. It is here, at the nexus of two radically diverse land masses, that Michener gives the reader a comprehensive history of the area, from the formation of the land and its rivers, to its prehistoric inhabitants, to its early settlers, to its subsequent clash of various cultures. The plains Indians, fur trappers, pioneer settlers, soldiers, ranchers, dry land and irrigation farmers, and the hearty descendents of these diverse groups--all are depicted vividly and weaved into an engrossing story by an author with a keen eye for detail. CENTENNIAL furnishes an impressive assortment of powerful, unforgettable characters: Lame Beaver, an Arapaho chieftan; Pasquinel, a French fur trapper; pioneer Levi Zendt; trail boss R.J. Poteet; ranchers Jim and Charlotte Lloyd; and many more. Through these characters the reader is given an epic tale of the American West, a tale that is beautiful, compelling, profound, and often tragic. CENTENNIAL is higly recommended to any student of the American West, or to any lover of epic literature.
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