Rating: 
Summary: Massive Historical Fictional Tale of Western Frontier
Review: I've had this book likely over seven years, and it has taken all of that to get through this: seven starts and stops, but at the end here the determination to see the read through.I agonized over the prehistoric, dinosaurish opening, but then found the Indian and trapper-mountain men section fascinating. But for me the best section was the establishment of the area of Centennial and the ranching. Having grown up in this area, it sure seems like Centennial would have to be Sterling. The Hereford and Black Angus are the backbone of the ranching community, here well represented in this epic tale of the West. Panaramic in his scope, Michener provides all the angles, sugar beets, irrigation, livestock wars, minority farm workers, etc. Easily the funniest part was the tragic tryout of the preacher at Centennial's Union Church who preached lengthily on the sheep and the Good Shepherd passage from John. Hilarious knowing that the sheep-cattle wars were raging and he was preaching to the cattle choir! Massive research well written, but tedious read through all 1038 pages. Sorry, but I enjoyed T.A. Larson's History of Wyo much more and recommend it to those interested in the area.
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Summary: James Mitchener at his very best!!
Review: If you're going to read only one book by James Mitchener, this should be it. The book is long but every bit of it is exciting. I especially like the Pasquinel brothers...
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Summary: wonderfully woven story!
Review: In response to Washington USA, YES, the mini-series is worthy of the book. In the late '70s I was reading/watching them hand-in-hand. Without trying to sound sexist, "Centennial" has a lot of terrific roles for men -- and the actors fit the bill. Off the top of my head, here are a few (forgive the spellings, I don't have the book with me): Robert Conrad as Pasquinel; Richard Chamberlain as McKeag; Gregory Harrison as Levi Zendt; Dennis Weaver as Poteet, the traill boss; Brian Keith as the sheriff; Richard Crenna as the dad Skimmerhorn; Cliff DeYoung as the son Skimmerhorn; Anthony Zerbe as Wendell (he was really good!); Alex Karras as Brumbaugh (he had the build); Timothy Dalton & Lynn Redgrave as the English cattle barons; and David Janssen was a great narrator. Please e-mail me if you have any questions about the mini-series.
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Summary: Summer reading at its best
Review: It's a tossup between "The Source" and "Centennial" for my favorite James Michener book. While "The Source" got me really interested in the Middle East, "Centennial" turned my attention in a big way towards the American Indian and the West. As I mentioned in my Amazon review of "The Source," back in my early teens I thought that the length of a book somehow corresponded to its difficulty level, so I thought that if I could read a 1,000+ page book, then I must be REALLY smart and also grown up! Anyway, the very first book I decided to read, based on these sophisticated criteria, was "Centennial," by James Michener. I quickly (and happily) found out that the book was not hard to read at all, and also that it was fascinating and highly entertaining. I read it like I was watching a movie! I strongly remember being completely engrossed as the centuries flew past, as lands rose and fell, as man came to North America, and eventually as the Indians and Europeans fought it out for control of the West. I definitely remember that this was a very different perspective on American history vis-a-vis the Indians than I was getting from Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone on TV. Some people have criticized James Michener for not being a particularly sophisticated writer, or the most elegant prose stylist ever. Well, that may be, but Michener sure could collect a ton of information, he sure could spin a great yarn, and he sure could get you hooked on the topic at hand -- the American West, the Middle East, South Africa, Hawaii, outer space. James Michener is summer reading at its (intelligent and entertaining) best.
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Summary: Best historical novel I have ever read.
Review: Many others have reviewed this book, so I will not be redundant. This book is simply the best historical novel I have ever read. I would certainly recommend the TV mini-series, which lasted over 21 hours. I consider it to be the best programming I have ever seen on TV. The producers did a magnificent job of adapting the novel to the screen. The only significant differences between the book and the miniseries is the mode of death of some of the main characters. Some who died rather mundane deaths in the book died dramatic deaths in the miniseries (beware of dancing outside!--those who have seen the miniseries will know what I mean.) A couple of criticisms I have of the book: Michener sometimes engages in historical revisionism in his attempt to dramatize the exploitation and mistreatment of Native Americans. He overcompensates for the former celebrative tone about "Manifest Destiny" found in many histories by portraying the Native Americans as faultless and wise, while whites are often portrayed as hard-drinking fools who have no appreciation for the land. Another criticism would be how Christianity is portrayed. I think Michener is too hard on the role of the church in the settling of the American West. True, some justified the genocide of the Native Americans by writing them off as "pagan savages," but many Christian leaders had a positive impact as well. But a pattern emerges in the book: most leaders and adherents to organized religion (Zendt's Mennonite pastor, the Catholic priest who dialogued with Pasquinel, the Centennial pastor who fell to the wiles of Wendell's wife) are portrayed at worst as self-righteous, vindictive and not having a clue about how to treat the Native Americans, and at best as easily-duped fools. This is certainly an overly simplistic appraisal of the role of Christianity in the West. Despite these weaknesses, I heartily recommend this book or miniseries to all. I purchased the entire miniseries, and I am currently watching it for the third time.
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Summary: A celebration of America
Review: Michener's "Centennial" is a fine historical fiction novel, one of his best. The man is a national treasure and I am reading again most of his fine novels. I just finished "Chesapeake" then read a great new novel, The Triumph and the Glory", and finished reading "Poland" yesterday. Rediscover Michener, you will enjoy yourself again !!
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the money
Review: OK, I'm gonna try this again - apparently, I was too sarcastic in my first review for Amazon's taste, and it was never put up. Michener's books tend to use the same lightly drawn characters over and over again - be warned, if you've read any of his other books, you'll notice more than passing similarities between James Lloyd here and Tom Venn in Alaska, for example; Charlotte Seccombe, the "good hearted woman who can outshoot, outdrink, outgamble, and outcuss any man" could be a twin sister to Debbie Dee Claggett in "Space". Even if this is your first Michener book, there's still plenty to annoy. He seems to feel that a historical appreciation of the West is impossible without an understanding of The Land. A defensible enough attitude, but Michener insists on devoting a much-too-long portion of his book to the land and wildlife; the first human doesn't make an appearance until after countless pages about plate tectonics, dinosaurs, and, in one of the more bizarre parts of the book, the love life of the bison, told from the bull's perspective. Notice that I said "bizarre," not "interesting". An equally serious flaw is that Michener gives Centennial a "book-within-a-book" format; the protagonist of Centennial is a researcher named Lewis Vernor who is collecting information for a publication, and stories about Centennial's past are "told" by him. The problem is, writing in the first person (for example, "I went to town," rather than "he went to town") is clumsy and awkward at best, which is why most writers avoid it. Michener is simply not skilled enough to pull it off, and I can't help wondering why his editor allowed the material to stay in. The passages add nothing to the story; fortunately, they are confined to a couple of chapters and short post-scripts to other sections. Why two stars instead of one? Well, out of the Michener books I've read, this was the best one, and there were some entertaining parts. So, the book deserves some credit. My review in a nutshell: don't buy it, save your money and check it out of the library. If you do read it, skip the "Lewis Vernor" sections; they're useless. And skip the geography lecture.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: Once again I've enjoyed every word of a book by Michener. Centennial offers an excellent portrait of the history and development of the American West. The depiction of the different Indian tribes is superb and very educational. The way all the characters and their situations are portrayed is magnificent. Every time I picked up the book I could picture myself in the 19th century West living and feeling like the characters of this fascinating book do. Of the six or seven novels I've read by Michener, I liked only "Chesapeake" better than this one. Michener is my American hero, and I've learned to love your country thanks to him.
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Summary: To sir, with love
Review: Once again, James Michener has created a wonderful story about a place, Colorado this time. From the rock formation, to its inherent animals, and, afterwards, the people - indians, english, german, russian, italian, japanese, Michener presents us with a lesson in writing, describing the arid landscapes, the flat, ugly Platte river, the majestic Rockies, the beaver trappers, the search for gold, the extermination of a race, the cattle ranchers. What more can I say about a book that's more than a thousand pages long and even so a very pleasant reading, never tiresome? Centennial, the focal point of the book, is an imaginary town, but very vivid in my mind. That's the power of Michener's storytelling. He was able to provide his readers with a great cast of characters, this time spanning a little more than three centuries. Blending history with things as different as, for example, dry-land farm technincs, Michener gives us a fantastic lesson about the United States. James Michener is one of my favorite authors, and, in my humble opinion, one of the great writers of the 20th century. We have to mourn his passing because Michener is that rare kind of author, the kind that have his readers always on his mind, always respectful, doing excellent researches, providing historical fiction like no one else. Thank you, Mr. Michener, wherever you are. Thank you for your kindness, for worrying about the quality of your books, thank you for compelling me to read more than 10,000 pages of your work, and not regreting even one minute of that reading. Grade 9.3/10
Rating:
Summary: If you
Review: read only one Michner novel ever (as I have), this is the one. Sue-poyeb.
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