Tales of the South Pacific is a collection of Pulitzer Prize winning short stories written by James A. Michener in 1946. The stories focus on the South Pacific Islands during WW II and the interaction between service people and the natives. The musical play by Rodgers and Hammerstein, South Pacific, was based on these stories. The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded since 1948 for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. ... Jump to: navigation, search James Albert Michener (February 3, 1907? - October 16, 1997) was the American author of such books as Tales of the South Pacific (for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948), Hawaii, The Drifters, Centennial, The Source, The Fires of Spring, Chesapeake, Caribbean, Caravans... Jump to: navigation, search 1946 was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Pacific Ocean has an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 islands; the exact number has not been precisely determined. ... German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ... Musical theater (or theatre) is a form of theater combining music, songs, dance, and spoken dialogue. ... Jump to: navigation, search Rodgers and Hammerstein were an American songwriting duo consisting of Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960). ... Jump to: navigation, search South Pacific is a musical play, written with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II that opened on Broadway on April 7, 1949, and ran for more than five years. ...