sylvania. He served in the US Navy during World War II and made his first trip across the Pacific at that time. His book Tales of the South Pacific won the Pulitzer Prize in 1947. Despite his substantial commercial success, he was known to be a humble man and was an active philanthropist.Albert Michener is a Pulitzer prize-winning author renowned for his historical epics. One of the world's most revered and best-loved novelists, Michener was one of America s most respected senior citizens. A prolific novelist and relentless researcher, Michener wrote many books.many beloved works include Tales of the South Pacific, which was adapted for Broadway and film as South Pacific , Caravans, Centennial, The Drifters, The Fires of Spring, Hawaii, Poland, Texas, Return to Paradise, Recessional and The Source .. As the new young director of the Palms, a Florida retirement home, Andy Zorn suffers no shortage of loving support and wise advice from his elders , a group of passionate, outspoken residents who refuse to accept the passive roles that society and family have handed them.in the Palms, a Florida retirement center, Recessional follows several residents over the course of a year as their individual narratives - humorous , moving, or sometimes triumphant - unfold. Chris Mallory reluctantly relinquishes his driver s license at the age of ninety, but refuses to hang up his dancing shoes. The Palm s five self-appointed elders, all once outstanding in their respective careers, hotly debate current affairs and plot a daring flying adventure; Laura Oliphant, former head of a private school for girls, never stops learning and never stops educating others, especially about the natural wonders of Florida; and Reverend Helen Quade, the Palms s unofficial pastor, finds an unexpected romance. We meet, too, the families of some of the Palms s residents - among them an independent, unconventional young woman who owes her success to the aunt who encouraged her always to follow her own instincts; and the devoted children of one resident who grapple with difficult decisions about their elderly mother s final days. When they are confronted with any important question that affects their closely knit community, the Palms residents band together and offer the new director, Andy Zorn, both their support and their suggestions. Zorn, a young doctor running from a past scandal, has been hired by geriatric mogul John Taggart to revitalize the Palms, a Tampa retirement community that s fallen into a minor malaise of both profits and morale. Unjust malpractice suits have driven Andy Zorn, MD, from obstetrics, and he begins a new life as director of a retirement community, The Palms, more than a thousand miles away from his Chicago home. The Palms offers well-off retirees comfortable apartments as well as nursing home and hospice facilities if the need arises. Andy s main job is to turn this place into a moneymaking proposition for its wealthy owner.applies his research to the ravages of old age that plague the Palms population, but the novel is overloaded with details which often seem unnecessary for the story he s telling. Some episodes and characters are touching: the tale of a seemingly mismatched couple in which the husband cares for the wife after she contracts Alzheimer s; a series of stories about four elder statesmen in the home who conspire to build and fly an airplane; and the saga of a widow who must make some difficult decisions after a biopsy for breast cancer; the romantic subplot between Zorn and a handicapped woman whom he rescues after a car accident. The doctor s efforts to provide care for an AIDS patient outside the home have similar problems with realism - the worst offense being a series of passages told from the perspective of a rattlesnake.
Irwin Shaw
1913-1984of the most prominent American novelists, short-story writer and playwright of the twentieth century, Irwin Shaw (real name Irwin Gilbert Shamforoff), was born on 27 February, 1913 in Bronx, New York in the family of immigrants from Russia. Irwin left Brooklyn College after failing in freshman mathematics, worked in a cosmetic factory, a department store and a furniture company as a message boy. During his life he tried different other jobs - he worked as a driver, a professional football player, and a teacher.his return to the college he worked in the students
