Written in 1946 and published in 1947, the book was loosely adapted in 1949 as the Broadway musical South Pacific, which itself formed the basis of two films dating from 1958 and 2001.

In particular, the stories used were "Fo' Dolla'", about Bloody Mary, Liat, and Lieutenant Joe Cable; and "Our Heroine", about Nellie Forbush and Emile de Becque.

Characters from other stories, such as Bill Harbison, Bus Adams, and Luther Billis, play minor or supporting roles.

For example, the coastwatcher in the musical is an American Marine (Lt. Cable) assisted by an expatriate French plantation owner (Emile de Becque).

In Michener's short story "The Cave" the coastwatcher is an English expatriate assisted by native islanders, and is a disembodied voice on a short-wave radio identifying himself only as "The Remittance Man".

The character of Liat, Cable's lover in the film, is a much more sophisticated and intelligent young woman in the book, but is reduced to a childlike caricature in the movie.