Centennial

A Novel

By: James A. Michener

Narrated by: Larry McKeever

Written to commemorate the Bicentennial in 1976, James A. Michener's magnificent saga of the West is an enthralling celebration of the frontier. Brimming with the glory of America's past, the story of Colorado - the Centennial State - is manifested through its people: Lame Beaver, the Arapaho chieftain and warrior, and his Comanche and Pawnee enemies; Levi Zendt, fleeing with his child bride from the Amish country; and the cowboy, Jim Lloyd, who falls in love with a wealthy and cultured Englishwoman, Charlotte Seccombe. In Centennial, trappers, traders, homesteaders, gold seekers, ranchers, and hunters are brought together in the dramatic conflicts that shape the destiny of the legendary West - and the entire country.

©2014 James A. Michener (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"A hell of a book.... While he fascinates and engrosses, Michener also educates." ( Los Angeles Times)

"An absorbing work.... Michener is a superb storyteller." ( BusinessWeek)

"An engrossing book...imaginative and intricate...teeming with people and giving a marvelous sense of the land." ( The Plain Dealer)

One Credit, 14 Great Books

Review 1,000!!
This is my one thousandth review. I only mention that, since when I saw this milestone coming up, I decided I wanted something I loved. I love James Michener, I love Larry McKeever and I love this book. I had listened to this before I joined audible, some six years ago and wanted to listen to it again and let people know what a great book it is. You can look at this as a long 51 hour book or as 14 books. Each chapter is as long as a book, is on a different subject or aspect and has new main characters. Some characters or their children occur throughout the book, but they are usually only the main character once.

1. THE COMMISSION--This would be a short story. It is one of the weaker parts of the book, but does show what magazines used to go through and how much they spent to publish a truthful article.
2. THE LAND--This is Michener's geology chapter. If you have read some of JM's other books, you know he usually has this chapter. In it, he explains the structure of the earth itself, talking about the mantle, core, crust, plate tectonics, mountain building, etc...
3. THE INHABITANTS--This is the animal chapter where he talks about dinosaurs, bison, beavers, horses and rattlesnakes. Here we learn that horses and camels got started in North America and left for Europe. Bison got started in Europe and a larger version came to America and dies out and then the bison we know so well migrated here.
4. THE MANY COUPS OF LAME BEAVER--We get to hear about the American Indians who lived in Colorado. The story concentrates on a poor tribe who call themselves OUR PEOPLE. NEVER TRUST A UTE.
5. THE YELLOW APRON--The fur trader and fur trapper chapter and there is a difference. A great mountain man type story.
6. THE WAGON AND THE ELEPHANT--This starts with a young Mennonite farmer in Lancaster Pa. He takes a bride and heads west in his Conestoga Wagon. A great luck at the hardships of being in a wagon train, heading for Oregon.
7. THE MASSACRE--A sad look at how the whites treated the American Indians. You have heard about the treaties we made and than broke. This goes into detail on one of them and talks about the slaughter of Indian women and children.
8. THE COWBOYS--WHEN A COWBOY SITS, NINE THINGS CAN HAPPEN AND EIGHT OR BAD. Lover of westerns will love going on this cattle drive.
9. THE HUNTERS--This features the beginning of Ranching and Farming in Colorado and goes into to detail on the slaughter of Buffalo.
10. A SMELL OF SHEEP--The beginning of irrigation, the Range Wars and a romance.
11. THE CRIME--The importance of circuses and thespians to isolated areas. Includes a story of murder.
12. CENTRAL BEET--The importance of Sugar Beets and the Japanese, Russians and Mexicans that made it happen.
13.DRYLANDS--The difficulties of farming on land that gets less than 16 inches of rain a year. Some years only 6 or 7 inches. A lot of time is dedicated to why we needed Mexicans and how they were treated by Whites.
14. November Elegy--The actual copyright of this book is 1974, not what audible listed. The chapter kind of roams all over. JM gets fairly political and those sensitive to Liberal views might not like this chapter. Pollution and gun control are talked about in detail.

Larry McKeever
I now know how other people feel when I am critical of books or narrators they love. I cut my audible book teeth on James Michener and McKeever. In the early days, the talent was sparse. I feel McKeever uses a lot infliction in his voice and don't see how others don't hear it. I don't want him to read a zombie book, but for Michener he is perfect. Michener's books are not highly emotional. He lets the facts speak for themselves. It is what he says, not how he says it. I think Larry lets JM's words speak for themselves. Listen to the sample before buying. I wrote audible several times and asked for these books, so I feel devastated that others don't love him as much as I do, much less hate him. That is what is great about following a reviewer, you can pick those who match your loves and hates.

monotone...

I'm very familiar with the story, but, as with Texas, the narrator has a flat, emotionless voice that detracts from the various events throughout the book.
Great story...not so great storyteller.

Gone

Misty feed and memories will be your reward upon finishing this epic novel of the real west. Pick it up, get lost in it and enjoy.

A wonderful lesson on the West

I love James Michener novels. This is one of my favorites. Issues that haunted our nation's past are just as relevant today, that's what makes this novel so powerful.

Wonderful!

I loved this book.
This is old-fashioned storytelling.
The characters are so well-developed and engaging that I was sad to leave them when the time came.
I'm going to choose another Michener book right now.

depth of research and detail

very interestingly done. the story was brought to life. the reader gets a real feeling for the human story of each stage.

Land and its people

Another amazing book by Michener, but not as good as Hawaii.
My major gripes are - limited psychological space he allows to Native American tribes, and off the cuff remark on how Indians kept slaves without explanation of what kind of slavery it was. Key point being to at slaves were always absorbed into the tribe as one of the tribe or given an opportunity to return to their own tribe, eventually.
The rest of the story has much love for all the various inhabitants of the West, and this is the major value of his work. He truly tries to understand people.
It’s also a great study in ecology and climate change. Very much worth listening to - and the narrator gets a lot better once you get through the first hour or so.

Raw history.

A raw telling of the old west with its strict report of sadness, stratification & the trials of human depth.

A walk through history

What did you love best about Centennial?

Listening to this story unfold was like taking a leisurely summer stroll through the history of part of the American west with a favorite old uncle describing everything you see.

What did you like best about this story?

The story really makes history come alive in this story. You fall in love with each and every character. Even down to the buffalo, you become a part of their lives, you feel their pain ans share their joys. You see and feel living in America from a different perspective, it can be eye opening.

What does Larry McKeever bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Larry McKeever did an excellent job of making you feel as if you were a part of the history as it unfolded, as if you were standing on the sidelines watching.

Any additional comments?

James A. Michener has a way of making history so interesting that you could almost wish you lived in the times so that you would feel everything as it evolved. This is a long story and wort every minute that is invested in listening.

A part of this community

Never having been close to vicinity of Centinial Colorado, this book has made me feel a part of the community!
I am now proud of the people who have dominated the area through time.
At first I wondered if I would continue in the thorough exhaustive story from dinosaur times, but soon I couldn’t wait to know the next sentence!