SOURCE: "Death Before Dying," in The New York Times Book Review, October 16, 1994, p. 20.

[In the following review, Wolitzer finds that Michener's melodramatic Recessional pales in comparison to his poignant The World Is My Home.]

James A. Michener seems to heed the old dictum to "write about what you know," which in his case is hardly limiting. In more than 40 books, published over the past 47 years, he's covered such diverse topics as wartime in the South Pacific, Alaska's social development and the space program. These heavily researched, fact-filled works are enormously popular, especially with readers who prefer their history and geography in the guise of fiction.

Now, in Recessional, Mr. Michener, who was born in 1907, addresses the complex issues associated with aging in America. He has chosen to present what must be an intensely personal subject through the perspective of his novel's idealistic young hero, Dr. Andy Zorn. After...