John Steinbeck

By: Catherine Reef

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Synopsis: John Steinbeck wrote about life in America from the early twentieth century through the turbulent 1960s. A natural storyteller, Steinbeck combined firsthand experience, direct observation, and his belief in human goodness in stories that show deep feeling for common, working people. Whether describing displaced Dust Bowl farmers in his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Grapes of Wrath; Mexican Americans in Tortilla Flat; or the colorful denizens of Monterey's Cannery Row, he created characters and events that are part of the nation's cultural and historical heritage. In search of stories to tell, Steinbeck traveled America's farm roads and highways, explored Mexico and Europe, and got to know migrant workers, soldiers, presidents, and a king. He wrote about a variety of subjects in many forms: novels, short stories, plays, film scripts, and newspaper and magazine articles. But John Steinbeck always wrote with a keen interest in Americans and their world, and with the same purpose: "My whole work drive has been aimed at making people understand each other." This fascinating biography interweaves Steinbeck's experiences and excerpts from his writings, highlighting his skillful transformation of significant historical and social events into classics of American literature. Photographs of the writer, his subjects, and the America they experienced make John Steinbeck a vivid chronicle of an important modern author and an extraordinary time in history.