Spirit of America Bookstore
John Steinbeck
[1902-1968]
 | short profile |
"Most of the feeling [that] we call religious, most of the mystical outcrying which is
one of the prized and used and desired reactions of our species, is really
the understanding and the attempt to say that man is related to the whole thing."
— John Steinbeck (from "Sea of Cortez" 1941)
t e x t
h e r e
John Ernst Steinbeck III was born 27 February 1902 in Salinas, California. The novel "The Grapes of Wrath" [publd 4/14/39] is considered his masterpiece, and earned a Pulitzer Prize for The Novel in 1940. He received a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 and the U.S. Medal of Freedom in 1964. He died 20 December 1968 in New York City of heart disease.
National Steinbeck Center [est. 1998]
John Steinbeck entry at Wikipedia
John Steinbeck's credits [since 1939] at Internet Movie Database
John Steinbeck's Broadway credits [1937-90]
browse John Steinbeck books at Amazon
John Steinbeck Quotations Page at Working Minds Philosophy website
Collections
 | John Steinbeck Centennial Boxed Set [2002] "Of Mice and Men" [1937], "The Grapes of Wrath" [1939], "Cannery Row" [1945], "The Pearl" [1947], "East of Eden" [1952] & "Travels With Charley In Search of America" [1962] Penguin 9x6 pb [1/2002] for $56.70 |
 | John Steinbeck: Novels and Stories 1932-1937 [1994] Edited by Robert DeMott & Elaine A. Steinbeck "The Pastures of Heaven" [1932], "To A God Unknown" [1933], "Tortilla Flat" [1935], "In Dubious Battle" [1936] & "Of Mice and Men" [1937] Library of America 8x5¼ hardcover [9/94] for $24.50 |
 | John Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath & Other Writings 1936-1941 [1996] Edited by Robert DeMott & Elaine A. Steinbeck "The Harvest Gypsies" [1936], "The Long Valley" [1938], "The Grapes of Wrath" [1939] & "The Log From The Sea of Cortez" [1941] Library of America 8x5 hardcover [10/96] for $35.00 |
 | John Steinbeck: Novels 1942-1952 [2002] Edited by Robert DeMott "The Moon Is Down" [1942], "Cannery Row" [1945], "The Pearl" [1947] & "East of Eden" [1952] Library of America 8x5¼ hardcover [2/2002] for $24.50 |
 | John Steinbeck: Travels With Charley and Later Novels [2007] Edited by Robert DeMott & Brian Railsback "The Wayward Bus" [1947], "Burning Bright" [1950], "Sweet Thursday" [1954], "The Winter of Our Discontent" [1961] & "Travels With Charley In Search of America" [1962] Library of America 8x5¼ hardcover [2/2007] for $26.40 |
Library of America Special Offer: 3-volume "John Steinbeck Collection (13 Complete Novels)" for new subscribers
Library of America 8x5¼ slipcover set [8/2017] 3 books for $9.95 + $5.95 s/h
Primary Works
"The Grapes of Wrath" [Viking April 1939]
 | When America was devastated by the 'Dust Bowl' drought, many farmers lost their land, and many of them migrated to California. Steinbeck's epic novel revealed to the world the plight of a family of 'Okies' (from Oklahoma), and caused society to make changes in 'The System'. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for The Novel, and is listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Novels (10/2005).
Kindle Edition from Penguin Publng [2006 edition] for $12.99 Penguin 8¼x5¾ pb [1/2002] for $11.03 Bantam mass pb [1964] out of print/used Penguin 7½x5 library hardcover [3/2006] for $20.59 Penguin UNABR audio [10/98] 12 tapes read by Dylan Baker - out of prodn/used |
 | feature film from 20th Century-Fox [January 1940] John Ford's movie (from Nunnally Johnson's script) remains an unforgettable experience even 70 years later. Directed by John Ford [1894-1973]; script by Nunnally Johnson; cinematography by Gregg Toland; starring Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin & Dorris Bowdon; won Oscars for Best Director & Best Supporting Actress (Darwell), nominated for Best Picture, Best Script, Best Actor (Fonda), Best Editing, Best Sound; listed in National Film Registry 1989; ranked #21 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest American Films • full credits at IMDb • film entry at Wikipedia more details on Magic Lantern's "The Grapes of Wrath" 1940 Movie Page |
 | "The Grapes of Wrath" stageplay [1988] Adapted & directed by Frank Galati; 188 Broadway performances, March-Sept 1990; won Tony Awards for Best Play, Best Director, won Drama Desk Award for Best Director Josef Weinberger Plays 7½x5 pb [6/91] out of print/used Penguin 7¾x5 pb [9/91] out of print/used Fireside Theatre hardcover [1990] out of print/scarce production details at IBDb • stageplay entry at Wikipedia L.A. Theatre Works live radio performance [2007] full-cast production starring Shirley Knight & Jeffrey Donovan, with live music L.A. Theatre Works audio CD [7/2007] 2 disks for $18.68 |
 | "Critical Essays On Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath" [1989] Edited by John Ditsky Twayne Publrs 9½x6 hardcover [3/89] for $66.00 |
 | "Working Days: The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath, 1938-1941" [1989] Edited by Robert Demott Penguin 7¾x5 pb [12/90] for $10.50 Viking hardcover [3/89] out of print/used |
 | "The Grapes of Wrath": original music for the University of Rochester Intl. Theatre Program production [©2001] by Jason McCool
Jason's website includes MP3 links that use Quicktime Media Player |
 | "Modern Critical Interpretations: The Grapes of Wrath" [2006] Edited by literary critic Harold Bloom [1930-2019] Chelsea House Publns 9½x6 library hardcover [11/2006] for $45.00 |
 | "The Grapes of Wrath: An Opera in 3 Acts" [2007] premiered at Minnesota Opera in February 2007; music by Ricky Ian Gordon, libretto by Micheal Korie
opera entry at Wikipedia Minnesota Opera cast recording, conducted by Grant Gershon [2007] P.S. Classics audio CD [8/2008] 3 disks for $36.68 |
 | "Obscene In The Extreme: The Burning & Banning of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath" [2008] by Rick Wartzman PublicAffairs 9x5½ pb [9/2009] for $11.21 PublicAffairs 9½x6½ hardcover [9/2008] for $20.48 |
"Cannery Row" [Viking Jan 1945]
 | Penguin 8½x5½ pb [1/2002] for $9.60 |
 | 1982 M.G.M. Movie Script based on "Cannery Row" & "Sweet Thursday"; written & directed by David S. Ward; starring Nick Nolte & Debra Winger Turner Home Video color VHS [3/93] for $17.99 full credits from IMDb |
"Sweet Thursday" [Viking June 1954]
 |
Penguin 7¾x5 pb [10/96] for $10.40 |
http://www.amazon.com/Real-Life-Cannery-Row-Steinbeck/dp/1883318904/
"Of Mice & Men" [Covici-Friede Feb 1937]
filmed in 1939, 1968, 1981 & 1992; staged on Broadway in 1937, 1974 & 2014,
also as a 1970 opera and a 2010 BBC Radio production
 | Kindle Edition from Penguin Classic [1994 edition] for $5.62
Bantam mass pb [9/83] out of print/130+ used Penguin 8½x5½ pb [1/2002] for $11.80 Penguin hardcover [1993] for $17.15 Penguin ABRIDGED audio [10/92] 2 tapes read by Gary Sinise for $5.88 book entry at Wikipedia |
 |
1939 b&w movie [Hal Roach Studios / United Artists] Directed by Lewis Milestone; starring Burgess Meredith, Betty Field, Lon Chaney Jr., Charles Bickford, Roman Bohnen, Bob Steele & Noah Beery Jr.; nominated for Oscars for Best Picture, Best Music (Aaron Copland), Best Sound Image Ent b&w DVD [3/2001] for $7.38 Image Ent b&w VHS [3/2001] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
 | 1992 M.G.M. color movie Directed by & co-starring Gary Sinise; also starring John Malkovich, Ray Walston, Casey Siemaszko, Sherilyn Fenn & John Terry MGM/UA widescreen color DVD [11/2001] for $40.67 MGM/UA color VHS [10/93] for $10.22 full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"East of Eden" [Viking Sept 1952]
Steinbeck considered "East of Eden" his greatest novel: "I think everything else I have written has been, in a sense, practice for this."
[Warner Bros./Sparkhill May 2005]
available on 2-disk DVD above; full credits at IMDb
"East of Eden" feature film [Universal/Imagine; in development 2014]
Directed by Tom Hooper; script by Christopher Hampton, based on the John Steinbeck novel
latest info at IMDb {still in development 2018}
"In Dubious Battle" [Viking Press 1936]
 | Written before "Grapes of Wrath", this story of a strike among migrant workers in apple orchards of California tells how Jim Nolan becomes a leader of the workers and then suffers crushing defeat.
Penguin Classics 7¾x5 pb [5/2006] for $10.88 Penguin Classics 7¾x5 pb [10/92] out of print/used Bantam mass pb [6/76] out of print/used Viking Press hardcover [10/36] out of print/many used |
"The Sea of Cortez"
 | "Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel & Research" [Viking Dec 1941] by John Steinbeck & Dr. Edward F. Ricketts Paul P. Appel hardcover [6/71 reprint] extremely rare/used |
 | "The Log From The Sea of Cortez" [Viking 1951] by John Steinbeck Penguin 7¾x5 pb [11/95] for $11.16 Viking pb [4/77] out of print/used |
 | "Searching For Steinbeck's Sea of Cortez: A Makeshift Expedition Along Baja's Desert Coast" [2002] by Andromeda Romano-Lax Sasquatch 8½x5½ pb [9/2002] for $11.87 |
 | "With Steinbeck In The Sea of Cortez: A Memoir of The Steinbeck/Ricketts Expedition" [1991] by Sparky Enea & Audry Lynch Sand River Press 9x6 pb [10/91] for $11.94 |
2004 re-creation of the 'Sea of Cortez' voyage {26 March to 26 May, 2004)
English web journal • Spanish web journal
participants include Jon Christenson of San Jose State University, chief scientist Prof. William F. Gilly of Stanford University,
Frank Donahue (owner/skipper of the 73-foot Gus-D), Chuck Baxter (Stanford lecturer emeritus), and
photographer Nancy Burnett; beer ration supplied by North Coast Brewing Co. of Fort Bragg, California
"Travels With Charley In Search of America"
[Viking Press non-fiction 1962]
 | In 1960, author Steinbeck set out in a pickup-truck-with-camper, accompanied by his French standard poodle Charley, and traveled across America, from Long Island to Montana to New Orleans to California. He found that the 'New America' replacing the old American values was not something that he liked.
Penguin mass pb [1/80] for $8.00 Bantam mass pb [1963] out of print/many used |
 | "Travels With Charley: In Search of America" read by Gary Sinise
Penguin UNABR audio CD [6/2011] for $19.77 Penguin-HighBridge UNABR audio cassettes [11/94] 6 tapes for $25.51 |
 | "Travels With Max: In Search of Steinbeck's America Fifty Years Later" [2010] by Gregory Zeigler Inspired by Steinbeck's "Travels With Charley", Gregory Zeigler celebrated the 50th anniversary of Steinbeck's storied trip by driving 15,000 miles over nine weeks, camp-ing with his dog Max and exploring the country and what Americans are like today. Blaine Creek Press of Montana 8½x5½ pb [7/2010] for $15.95 (self-) publisher website |
 | "Long Way Home: On The Trail of Steinbeck's America" [2010] by Bill Barich Walker & Co. 9¼x6¼ hardcover [10/2010] for $18.98 |
Other Works
Steinbeck audio catalog at Amazon
 | "Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, With Occasional Reference To History" [1929]
Penguin Ltd. pb [8/2004] for $11.97 Penguin Classics 7¾x5 pb [11/95] for $10.78 Viking mass pb [5/93] out of print/used hardcover [1936] out of print/used |
"The Pastures of Heaven" [stories 1932]
"To A God Unknown" [1933]
BooksOnTape UNABR audio [1/92] 8 tapes for $48.00
"The Red Pony" [1933]
"The Red Pony" Technicolor feature film [Republic Pictures 1949]
Directed by Lewis Milestone, script by John Steinbeck; starring Myrna Loy, Robert Mitchum & Louis Calhern
listed in "Jeffrey Lyons' 100 Great Movies For Kids" [1996]
"The Red Pony" [TV 1973] /tt0070598/
starring Henry Fonda, Maureen O'Hara & Ben Johnson
"Tortilla Flat" [1935]
"Tortilla Flat" read by John McDonough
Penguin UNABR audio [2/99] 6 tapes for $20.97
"Tortilla Flat" b&w movie [1942] /tt0035460/ starring Spencer Tracy & John Garfield
 | "The Harvest Gypsies: On The Road To The Grapes of Wrath" [1936] Intro by Charles Wollenberg, 22 b&w photos by Dorothea Lange Seven newspaper articles written by John Steinbeck for The San Francisco News in 1936 – after writing "In Dubious Battle" and prior to "Grapes of Wrath"; first printed in book form in 1996 Heyday Books 8x6 pb [7/2002] for $9.95 Heyday Books 8x6 hardcover [10/96] out of print/many used |
"Their Blood Is Strong" [1938] by John Steinbeck
The Simon J. Lubin Society of California published a pamphlet-sized text version
of the seven articles, which is now extremely rare
"The Long Valley" [stories 1938]
"The Moon Is Down" [1942] /tt0036170/ = not on ML/warFF + pb 0140187464
"The Pearl" [1947]
Penguin UNABR audio read by Hector Elizondo [4/94] 2 tapes for $11.20
Steinbeck's "The Pearl" 1947 b&w film /tt0037981/
Steinbeck's "The Pearl" 2001 = /B0009PW4CI + /tt0245350/
"The Wayward Bus" [1947]
 | Mechanic & bus driver Juan Chicoy & his wife Alice operate a small lunch counter/bus stop at rural Rebel Corners that employs young waitress Norma and general helper Ed 'Pimples' Carson; several people are waiting for Juan to fix his bus so that he can take them to San Juan de la Cruz: self-important businessman Elliott Pritchard, his wife Bernice, and their college student daughter Mildred; travel-ing salesman Ernest Horton; and a curvaceous young blonde woman using the fake name of Camille. Norma quits her job and gets on the bus, which soon leaves into heavy rain. The rain has weakened a bridge, so Juan asks the passengers whether he should turn around or try a dirt road: they choose to keep going. Juan runs the bus into a ditch, possibly on purpose; he says that he will go for help, but has decided to go back to Mexico. Mildred follows Juan and finds him asleep in a nearby barn; they have sex, with varying interpretations as to its meaning; they return to the bus, Juan gets it out of the ditch, and the story ends with San Juan de la Cruz in the distance.
Kindle Edition from Penguin Classics [3/2006] for $14.99 Penguin Classics 7¾x5 pb [3/2006] for $14.06 Bantam Books mass pb [1962] out of print/used The Viking Press 8x5¾ hardcover [1947] out of print/100+ used |
 | "The Wayward Bus" b&w movie [Fox May 1957] Produced by Charles Brackett; directed by Victor Vicas; written by Ivan Moffat, based on the novel by John Steinbeck; starring Rick Jason, Joan Collins, Jayne Mansfield, Dan Dailey, Betty Lou Keim, Dee Pollock, Dolores Michaels, Larry Keating, Robert Bray, Kathryn Givney, Will Wright, Roy Bourgeois, Mary Carroll, Harry Carter, Joe Devlin, Milton Frome, Tom Greenway, James Stone, Harry Tyler, Anna Luther, Max Wagner Twilight Time b&w HD Blu-ray [6/2012] for $39.99 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia watch opening scene clip [7/2014 upload; 2:03] online at YouTube watch full movie [6/2013 upload; 1:28:36] online at YouTube |
Steinbeck Quarterly 25.03-04 (Summer/Fall 1992) by Christopher S. Busch
"A Russian Journal" [non-fiction 1948]
 | "The Knight In The Tiger Skin" [circa 1200 C.E.] by Shot'Ha Rust'Hveli Also known as "The Knight In The Panther's Skin"; Steinbeck read a copy of this book while in Russia, a trip that was later reported in "Russian Journal"; Steinbeck describes the book as a wonderful 900-year-old epic poem; the author is an icon of Georgian [SSR] national literature. Fredonia Books 9x6¾ pb [9/2001] for $27.64 book entry at Wikipedia |
"The Short Reign of Pippin IV" [1957]
"Once There Was A War" [non-fiction novel 1958]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_There_Was_a_War
"The Winter of Our Discontent" novel [1961]
"The Winter of Our Discontent" feature film [1983]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm3RNjw869g&t=2404s 1.40.17
"America and Americans" [non-fiction 1966] /0670030627/
 | "The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights: From The Winchester Manuscripts of Thomas Malory & Other Sources" [1976] by John Steinbeck, Foreword by Christopher Paolini Published posthumously, a retelling by Steinbeck of seven of the original Arthurian legends. Penguin Classics mass pb [12/2008] for $10.88 Del Rey mass pb [6/80] out of print/many used FS&G 9x6 pb [4/93] out of print/many used Viking 8½x5¾ hardcover [10/2007] for $19.77 Random House Value hardcover [12/82] out of print/many used "Los Hechos del Rey Arturo y sus Nobles Caballeros" Sudamericana 6¾x4½ pb [1/2000] for $16.34 Sudamericana hardcover [1/99] out of print/used |
Spirit of America Bookstore's King Arthur Page
Announced 3/2010: Troika Pictures purchased the movie rights to John Steinbeck’s "The Acts of King Arthur
and His Noble Knights"; the proposed film will be produced by Robert L. Stein & Michael A. Helfant,
with Jennifer Lee adapting the screenplay;
latest info at IMDb {still in development 2018}
Stageplays, Motion Pictures & Other Media
John Steinbeck's credits [since 1939] at Internet Movie Database
John Steinbeck's Broadway credits [1937-90]
"The Forgotten Village" documentary feature [indep Nov 1941]
 | "A realistic drama about a young boy and his family in a Mexican mountain village" Co-produced by Rosa Harvan Kline; co-produced & co-directed by Herbert Kline & Alexander Hammid/Hackenschmid; story & screenplay by John Steinbeck; narrated by Burgess Meredith; music by Hanns Eisler; actors are non-professionals A2Zcds/Tapeworm Video restored & remastered b&w DVD [3/2005] for $14.95 Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [4/2010] for $7.98 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia watch the movie online [8/2004 upload; 1:05:05] for free at Internet Archive watch full movie online [8/2012 upload; 1:05:05] online at YouTube |
 | "The Forgotten Village: Life In A Mexican Village" [1941] by Rosa Harvan Kline & Alexander Hackensmid, Story by John Steinbeck Kindle Edition from Penguin Books [7/2009] for $11.99 Penguin Books 8½x5½ pb [7/2009] for $19.16 Viking Press 10¼x7¼ hardcover [5/1941] out of print/70+ used |
"Lifeboat" feature film [Fox Jan 1944]
 | A freighter and a German U-boat do battle in mid-Atlantic and both are sunk. The survivors from the ship gather in one of the lifeboats: a female journalist, a wealthy industrialist, the radio operator, a nurse, a Negro steward, a sailor, a hysterical English-woman, and an engineer with communist tendencies. Trouble starts when they pull a man out of the water who turns out to be from the U-boat. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock; script by Jo Swerling, based on a story by John Steinbeck; starring Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Hume Cronyn, Canada Lee & Heather Angel; Oscar noms for Best Director, Best Original Story (JS), Best B&W Cinematography
Fox Special Edition b&w DVD [10/2005] for $9.99 Fox b&w VHS [12/97] out of prodn/many used 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $19.99 full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"A Medal For Benny" [Paramount April 1945]
 | The hometown of dead war hero Benny wants to share the glory, but when they realize that Benny's father lives in a shack, they move him into a new home and otherwise whitewash the past. A look at the hypocrisy of heroism, as Benny was generally shunned before dying in action. Directed by Irving Pichel; script by John Steinbeck & Jack Wagner; starring Dorothy Lamour, Arturo de Córdova, J. Carrol Naish, Mikhail Rasumny, Fernando Alvarado & Frank McHugh; Oscar nominated for Best Story & Best Supporting Actor (Naish) not available on DVD; full credits from IMDb |
"A Medal For Benny" live color TV broadcast [NBC-TV aired 25 Nov 1954]
1-hour live episode of Lux Video Theatre, the first coast-to-coast live broadcast of a comedy/drama
– and it was in color! Directed by Buzz Kulik; starring Rick Jason, Anne Bancroft & J. Carrol Naish
full credits from IMDb • article from Rick Jason's memoirs
"Burning Bright: A Play In Story Form" [1950]
 | Introduction by John Ditsky; Steinbeck wrote this novella as an experimental form of stageplay, one with the author's & characters's novelistic thoughts included along with the dialogue & stagecraft. Because her aging husband is desperate for a child and she suspects that he is sterile, a young wife gets pregnant by her husband's cocky assistant; then the husband discovers that he is indeed sterile, so he cannot be the father.
Penguin Classics 7¾x5 pb [11/2006] for $10.20 Bantam Books mass pb [1962] out of print/used book/stageplay entry at Wikipedia |
"Burning Bright" Broadway play [Oct 1950]
Produced by Rodgers and Hammerstein; flopped: 13 performances only; Broadway credits
"Play of The Week: Burning Bright" TV play [N.E.T./N.T.A. Oct 1959]
 | Presented by Broadway Theatre Archive; 100-minute live telecast directed by Curt Conway; hosted by David Susskind; starring Colleen Dewhurst, Dana Elcar, Donald Madden & Myron McCormick Kultur Video b&w DVD [7/2003] for $22.49 Kultur Video b&w VHS [7/2003] for $10.36 full credits at IMDb |
"Burning Bright: The Opera" [1993] by American composer Frank Lewin
"Viva Zapata!" feature film [Fox Feb 1952]
 | Directed by Elia Kazan; starring Marlon Brando, Jean Peters, Anthony Quinn & Joseph Wiseman; won Oscar for Best Supporting Actor (Quinn), nominated for Best Script (John Steinbeck), Best Actor (Brando), Best Music, Best Art Direction
b&w DVD [undated] out of prodn/used Fox b&w VHS [6/2001] out of prodn/used Verese soundtrack CD [3/98] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
 | Steinbeck's "Zapata" script in book form, edited by Robert E. Morsberger Penguin 7¾x5 pb [5/93] for $12.80 |
"O. Henry's Full House" anthology feature film [Fox Oct 1952]
 | On-screen narration by John Steinbeck; five segments based on stories of O. Henry [1862-1910]; includes "The Cop and The Anthem" directed by Henry Koster; "The Clarion Call" directed by Henry Hathaway; "The Last Leaf" directed by Jean Negulesco; "The Ransom of Red Chief" directed by Howard Hawks; and "The Gift of The Magi" directed by Henry King; actors include Lee Aaker, Fred Allen, Anne Baxter, Jeanne Craine, Farley Granger, Charles Laughton, Oscar Levant, Marilyn Monroe, Jean Peters, Gregory Ratoff, Dale Robertson & Richard Widmark; extras include two featurettes & two 1927 silent shorts
Fox color DVD [11/2006] for $16.99 full credits from IMDb |
"Pipe Dream" [Broadway musical Nov 1955-June 1956]
 | Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway stage musical, adapted from Steinbeck's "Sweet Thursday"; starring Helen Traubel, William Johnson & Judy Tyler; 9 Tony noms, won for Best Costumes RCA Victor original cast recording audio CD [3/93] for $10.22 credits at Internet Broadway Database • official webpage 7-song vocal score: Hal Leonard Corp. 12/8¾ pb [12/86] for $9.31 complete vocal score: Hal Leonard Corp. 12x9 pb [4/81] for $60.00 |
'Pipe Dream' revival in San Francisco, CA [July 1995]
'Pipe Dream' musical entry at Wikipedia
 | "The Spoken Word: American Writers" [2008] compiled by Richard Fairman
The British Library audio CD set [10/2008] 3 disks for $23.97 interviewees include James Baldwin, Pearl Buck, Raymond Chandler (interviewed by Ian Fleming), Ralph Ellison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Lillian Hellman, Sinclair Lewis, Arthur Miller, Eugene O'Neill (reading from "Long Day's Journey Into Night"), Gertrude Stein, John Steinbeck (on "The Grapes of Wrath"), and Tennessee Williams |
Works About John Steinbeck
The Steinbeck Quarterly Journal [1968-93] online at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana
 | "Steinbeck: A Life in Letters" [Viking 1975] Edited by Robert Wallsten & Elaine Wallsten Steinbeck Penguin 7¾x5 pb [4/89] for $17.50 Penguin Classics 7¾x5 pb [7/2001] out of print/used Galahad hardcover [3/79] out of print/used Viking hardcover [10/75] out of print/used |
 | "John Steinbeck, Writer: A Biography" [1990] by Jackson J. Benson Penguin 8½x5½ pb [12/90] for $17.50 |
 | "Steinbeck Country: A Musi-Drama' [1994]
Essentially a one-man show about Steinbeck in the 1930s, with ten original songs based on his books; written in 1994, acted by Taelen Thomas, music by Larry Hosford's Music Troupe; based in Monterey, California official webpage |
 | "John Steinbeck: An American Writer" [A&E Biography tv movie 2000] Directed by Morgan Neville A&E Home Video DVD [8/2004] out of prodn/used A&E Home Video VHS [8/2000] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb • A&E Biography page |
 | "Steinbeck's Ghost" YA novel [grades 5-9; 2008] by Lewis Buzbee After his family moves to a suburb, young Travis rides his bike to Salinas and the John Steinbeck Library to read more of his favorite author; but the library may be forced to close and Travis begins seeing characters from Steinbeck's stories, and he even sees a young boy writing in a second story room of the Steinbeck boyhood home . . . Kindle Edition from Feiwel & Friends [9/2008] for $7.99 Square Fish 8½x5½ pb [3/2010] for $13.87 Feiwel & Friends 8½x5¾ hardcover [9/2008] out of print/50+ used |
http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Boundaries-Rereading-John-Steinbeck/dp/0817311513/
http://www.amazon.com/Conversations-John-Steinbeck-Literary/dp/0878053603/
http://www.amazon.com/Essays-East-Eden-Steinbeck-monograph/dp/B0006XU5OW/
http://www.amazon.com/John-Steinbeck-Biography-Jay-Parini/dp/0805016732/
http://www.amazon.com/John-Steinbeck-Close-Milton-Meltzer/dp/0670061395/
http://www.amazon.com/John-Steinbeck-Criticism-Authoritative-Literature/dp/0919966454/
http://www.amazon.com/Journey-into-Steinbecks-California-ArtPlace/dp/0976670623/
http://www.amazon.com/Looking-SteinbeckS-Ghost-Western-Literature/dp/087417497X/
http://www.amazon.com/Steinbeck-Critics-Studies-American-Literature/dp/1571132104/
"John Steinbeck: America's Author" (People to Know) by Donne Florence (Library Binding - Feb 2000)
"Steinbeck and The Environment: Interdisciplinary Approaches" []
Edited by Susan F. Beegel, Susan Shillinglaw & Wesley N. Tiffney, Jr., Foreword by Elaine Steinbeck
Friends & Family
John Ernst Steinbeck III was born in 1902 in Salinas, California; the novel "The Grapes of Wrath" [1939] is considered his masterpiece, and earned a Pulitzer Prize for The Novel
in 1940; he received a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 and the U.S. Medal of Freedom in 1964; John Steinbeck died in 1968 in New York City at age 66.
marine biologist Ed Ricketts [1897-1948] - pals 1930-1948
http://www.amazon.com/Renaissance-Man-Cannery-Row-Ricketts/dp/081735087X/
http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Through-Journals-Travelogues-Ricketts/dp/0520247043/
http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Outer-Shores-Pioneering-Ecologist/dp/1560256893/
http://www.amazon.com/Between-Pacific-Tides-Edward-Ricketts/dp/0804720681/
"John Steinbeck and Edward F. Ricketts: The Shaping of A Novelist" [] by Richard Astro 0972197400
first wife Carol Henning Steinbeck Brown []
married January 1930, separated 1941, divorced March 1943
second wife Gwyndolyn Conger Steinbeck [?-1975]
married March 1943, divorced Aug 1948
son Thomas Myles 'Thom' Steinbeck [1944-2016]
Thom's entry at Wikipedia •
official website
 | "Down To A Soundless Sea: Stories" [2002] by Thomas Steinbeck
Ballantine 7¼x5½ pb [9/2003] for $11.16 Ballantine 8¾x5¾ hardcover [10/2002] out of print/used Brilliance UNABR audio CD [6/2004] for $25.90 Brilliance UNABR audio [10/2002] for $29.95 Nova ABR audio [10/2002] out of prodn/used |
 | "My California: Journeys By Great Writers" [27 travel essays, 2004] Edited by Donna Wares, Illustrations by David Hockney, Introduction by Pico Iyer Essays by 27 California authors, compiled as a revenue source for the California Arts Council; contributors include Mark Arax, Michael Chabon, Veronique de Turenne, Anh Do, Firoozeh Dumas, Percival Everett, Dana Gioia, Kathi Kamen Goldmark, Gerald Haslam, Edward Humes, Pico Iyer, David Kipen, Aimee Liu, Mary Mackey, Devorah Major, Rubén Martínez, Patt Morrison, T. Jefferson Parker, Derek M. Powazek, Carolyn See, Thomas Steinbeck, Deanne Stillman, Héctor Tobar, D.J. Waldie, Matt Warshaw, Daniel Weintraub & Chryss Yost Angel City Press pb [6/2004] for $10.88 |
 | "In The Shadow of The Cypress: A Novel" [2010] by Thomas Steinbeck The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 uncovers ancient artifacts – a jade seal and a tablet with three different languages – buried at the base of a cypress tree, then the artifacts disappear. A century later, a scientist discovers that secret event and attempts to track down the historical facts, as well as the artifacts themselves. Kindle Edition from Simon & Schuster Digital Sales [4/2010] for $9.73 S&S/Gallery pb [4/2011] for $13.87 S&S/Gallery 9½x6 hardcover [4/2010] out of print/used |
son John Steinbeck IV [1946–91]
John IV's entry at Wikipedia •
Nancy's official website
 | "In Touch" [1969] by John Steinbeck IV The first half tells of John IV's service in the Army in VietNam and his later work there as a journalist - the My Lai scoop! - and the second half is about his ill-treatment upon returning to the States. Dell mass pb [1970] out of print/used Knopf 7¾x5½ hardcover [6/1969] out of print/used |
 | "The Other Side of Eden: Life With John Steinbeck" [2001] by John Steinbeck IV & Nancy Steinbeck, Foreword by Andrew Harvey Started by John IV in 1990, expanded & finished by his wife Nancy Harper Steinbeck; mostly about the couple's turbulent relationship, with asides about Papa Steinbeck Prometheus Books hardcover [2/2001] for $20.61 |
third wife Elaine Anderson Scott Steinbeck {Wallsten} [1914-2003]
married December 1950, widowed 1968
L i n k s
National Steinbeck Center [est. 1998]
John Steinbeck entry at Wikipedia
John Steinbeck's credits [since 1939] at Internet Movie Database
John Steinbeck's Broadway credits [1937-90]
Nobel Prize for Literature 1962
Portions of Nobel Acceptance Speech
listed #96 on Atlantic Monthly's "100 Most Influential Americans" (12/2006)
browse John Steinbeck books at Amazon
Steinbeck audio catalog at Amazon
Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University
which encompasses the Steinbeck Society and the Steinbeck Review
John Steinbeck Papers Archive at Stanford University
John Steinbeck Quotations Page at Working Minds Philosophy website
browse John Steinbeck Store {returns 180+ titles} at Amazon
Steinbeck audio catalog at Amazon
Weedpatch Camp, California
John Steinbeck's Pacific Grove [a self-guided driving tour]
City of Monterey, California official website
City of Salinas, California official website
The Steinbeck House [built 1897] in Salinas, CA
EdS's Steinbeck California Novels fansite
MJM's http://www.steinbeckquestions.com/
http://www.larryhosford.com/Steinbeck%20Links.htm
C-SPAN American Writers John Steinbeck page
John Steinbeck Timeline at Shmoop
article in the March 2002 Socialist Worker
![National Steinbeck Festival - Onward [May 2014 = #34] in Salinas, California](images/SteinbeckFestival2014.jpg)
here on the John Steinbeck [1902-68] Page at Spirit of America Bookstore
top of page • short profile • primary works • other works • plays, movies & other media •
works about John Steinbeck • friends & family • links
John Steinbeck Quotations Page at Working Minds Philosophy website
Magic Lantern's "The Grapes of Wrath" 1940 Movie Page
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