Product Description
This second volume in the authoritative edition of JohnSteinbeck (with "Novels and Stories, 1932-1937") features thePulitzer-Prize winning masterpiece "The Grapes of Wrath" in a newlycorrected text based on the author's manuscript, typescript, andgalleys. "The Harvest Gypsies is Steinbeck's investigative report onmigrant farm workers which laid the groundwork for the novel. "TheLong Valley" displays his brilliance with short stories, includingsuch classics as "The Chrysanthemums," "Flight," and "The Red Pony.""The Log from the Sea of Cortez," about a marine biologicalexpedition, combines science, philosophy, and adventure. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Classic Literature. Timeless...The Very Best
This is classicliterature from one of America's great writers. In high school I was required to read The Grapes of Wrath for my literature class. At the time I liked the novel but did not really appreciate how timeless and what an epic it was.

Recently my family and I bought a cattle ranch in far west Oklahoma and I was introduced to what happened in the Dust Bowl depression time.I had to buy this book and read again about the Great Depression and families moving from the dust bowl in an attempt to find a better life. The Grapes of wrath is a fictitious story but the master genius writer John Steinbeck uses many many actual facts and events that really happened in the depression.

His writing style is so richly descriptive and thought provoking Steinbeck eventuallyreceived a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. John Steinbeck a true American writing genius. Shortly after The Grapes of Wrath was published many schools and colleges banned it as being too controversial and creating too strong emotions andbeing un american.

We see families out of work during the depression and starving. Banks are taking their homes and farms because they cant make the payments. Its affecting tens of millions of people. Catastrophic. We do see some of the good things in people doing what little sharing and charity they can. However there is much evil in the hearts of many man and women. Hundreds of thousands of agriculture advertisements are given out to people in the Dust Bowl states to come to California (the land of milk and honey) to get picking produce work in the fields. Poor farming techniques by farmers have left the land without nutrients and unable to hold the valuable topsoil in the Midwest states. The wind just blows the topsoil away and a barren non producing dust bowl is left. Millions flee to California to try to get work in the fields. Its a total rip off. The big ag companies just wanted unlimited cheapest labor. These people are starving and the big ag companies say Ill pay you 20cents/hr to pick. Competition pickers said Ill pick for 10cents/hour. Some said 5 cents per hour etc. etc. Then the big farmers only kept the best pickers that could pick the most and paid them the least. This was all a sham to get the cheapest labor. Then there is the ultimate horror. There are tons and tons of produce grown that the big ag companies can not sell at a profit. They deliberately throw kerosene on mountains of perfectly good food and light it. Starving desperate families watch this. People are left to starve.

After reading this book one thinks maybe another Great Depression could happen. We may be skating financially on very thin ice in this country. Try to prepare a little just in case the unthinkable happens again.

This story is about change and man eventually doing better for his fellow man. Its a powerful story that really gets you thinking about what people are capable of for good and for evil.

The other stories in this collection are excellent too but The Grapes of Wrath is the one everyone remembers and will be a classic forever. Now I know why it was required reading in high school literature 40 years ago. INMO every family library should have at least 10 pieces of classic literature. This John Steinbeck collection is one of them. 5 star

Steinbeck is Amazing...All of it
This volume is just as good as all the other Steinbeck volumes within the Library of America series -which is to say that this collection of stories and novels is second to none. Steinbeck was a force and the guy will change your life. Read this and people will actually smell you becoming smarter.

it was great
grapes of wrath is a great book.it is about a family that goes through ups and downs every chapter.and a man who wats to get his family back on track, cause his father lost his farm land in Oklahoma.So they head to California to find new jobs but there new jobs arn't the same as having there own land, cause when they had there own land they had no boss but when they head to Cali. they are not happy cause they are bossed around.

Steinbeck's Art
It is surely a shame that Mr. Steinbeck forever will be confined to the archipelago of socio-economico-political literature.Too often a smug reviewer writes of Steinbeck's "moving" portrayal of the Joad family and their struggle against a growing America."Oh, how I can 'identify' with the Preacher!"HUMBUG.Mr. Steinbeck wrote words, not ideas.His art is exquisite and melodious and stock-full of imagery.His structure, even in the volumunious Grapes, is compact and economical.His style, even in the scientific Log, is artistic and exact.And his ideas, even in the idea-ed Harvest, are irrelevant.Buy this book.But don't buy it because the blurb on the back says something about the Joads being an American archetype of the twentieth century; instead, buy it because it is literature - American literature - at its finest.Every sentence.Every word.

A classic that is worth re-reading
I, like many, first read this _The Grapes of Wrath_ in high school.Then, it piqued a great curiosity about recent (this century) American history that my teachers could never satisfy.A recent re-reading, however, has shown me the great depth that I missed the first time.Read it slowly, savor the dogged, determined hopelessness that was life for many of our immediate ancestors.From the sad beginning to the desperate ending, it will teach you, and reach you. ... Read more

Product Description
From a swashbuckling pirate fantasy to a meditation on American morality—two classic Steinbeck novels make their black spine debuts

IN AWARDING John Steinbeck the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Nobel committee stated that with The Winter of Our Discontent, he had “resumed his position as an independent expounder of the truth, with an unbiased instinct for what is genuinely American.”

Ethan Allen Hawley, the protagonist of the novel, works as a clerk in a grocery store that his family once owned. With the decline in their status, his wife is restless, and his teenage children are hungry for the tantalizing material comforts he cannot provide. Then one day, in a moment of moral crisis, Ethan decides to take a holiday from his own scrupulous standards. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (92)

A Must Read
Having read much of Steinbeck in my youth, I lately read one book I missed. Wow. This is a masterpiece in my view. Put it on your list, for sure. You will probably reread the final couple of chapters. You can also write your own ending.

from Milan, Italy
Out of print in Italy luckly available somewhere else, I and my 18 years old boy appreciated very much. A must for who wants to understand the US citizens.

The Summer of Our Moral Holiday
John Steinbeck's last work of fiction, 'The Winter of Our Discontent', examines the 'moral flabbiness' of post-war America, particularly that of the late 1950's.Its stated question, posed by the main character Ethan Allen Hawley in a first person monologue, is whether an ethical man can set aside his principles, do what is required to advance himself in the world, and then, objective reached, reclaim those principles without suffering moral damage.That Hawley does eventually convince himself to attempt such a 'moral holiday', to prove for himself that it's possible, and the results he obtains is the crux of the book - but from its melodramatic set-up to its engineered ending, it seems as though Steinbeck were shouting out his subject's terrible relevance on every page.

I nearly put this book down before I finished the first chapter.It begins with several pages of dialog that sounds artificial and too special, followed by a character sketch of Hawley as he interacts with the same townspeople he'll have to deal with during his 'holiday'.This blatant foundation seems amateurish, and I can't help but think of the last Steinbeck book I read, 'To a God Unknown', which, while it had its faults, had an intrinsic vitality to its spare prose and a calm, evocative pace that is lacking in this much later work.

In the book's third chapter, Steinbeck changes his point of view, and Hawley begins to address the reader in the first person.At this point, I did get somewhat drawn into the story, and once his machinations come clearer, there is a bit of tension to their resolution.Unfortunately, the necessity of having the story impart a lesson trumps a realistic, though probably ambiguous, ending, and instead concludes with Hawley frantically out of character.

'Winter of Our Discontent' isn't as terrible as I've probably made it out to sound, but it is disappointing in relation to other Steinbeck novels that I've read.In this Penguin Classics Edition, Susan Shillinglaw writes a perceptive, and positive, introduction that contextualizes 'Winter' with Steinbeck's life, and also catalogs some of the references to the outside world that gives this novel an extra layer of texture and nuance; however this still fails to overcome its melodramatic air.In that sense, 'Winter' is reminiscent of 'East of Eden', and readers who enjoyed that Steinbeck work may also find 'The Winter of Our Discontent' to their liking.

Book fell apart on first reading
I order many, many books from Amazon and this was the first time I was disappointed.I knew the book would not be in perfect shape, but I didn't expect it to fall apart from the first time I opened it.Each time I opened it to read, more pages fell out.Very disappointing.The book did come quickly and was packaged very well.

best of the post eden novels
After writing East of Eden, JohnSteinbecks productivity in writing fiction tailed off. He seemingly had said what he wanted to say in his fiction.The novel about modern france was one of his weakest but he rebounds with his best post Eden novel, The Winter Of Our Discontent. Ethan Hawley is the clerk at a New England grocery store .The building once belonged to Hawleys family but the fortune has been lost andEthan s now a Harvard graduate working as a store manager. The scenario is rather implausible if you think about it a Harvard grad managing a small city grocery.However Steinbeck quickly gets you into Ethans mind and he does it in such a compelling you believe it. The story is about how motivated by a fortune predicted by a good friend of his wife leads Ethan to listen and pay attention to the world around him and conclude that ethics and morality do notmix well with business. Ethan does nothing illegal or criminal but he does things that are ethically and morally dubious. The last sceneis deliberately ambivalent does Ethan killhimself or not In looking at moral poverty and how the consequences of being self aware of ones moral deterioratioc coupled by a desire for personal integrity for at one point it was Ethans most prized possession Steinbeck creates another 5 star classic if not as good as some of his other novels. I call it the weakest of his 5 star novels because of the implausibility I mentioned earlier but consider it a classic despite that flaw ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

In depth coverage
I have a comprehensive study of this author with this book.More than I had imagined.I did read the entries appropriate for my project e.g. East Of Eden and biographical information.While concise I feel I am prepared for the occasion for which I ordered the book and enjoyed the read.From the list of other books by the same author I have selected a few more to read and think this book will help me enjoy those reads as well.Perhaps scholarly but not snooty and incomprehensible.

A comprehensive biography which includes critical commentary on his novels, short stories, nonfiction and other works
John Steinbeck is not only the most beloved of American authors - he's one of the most studied, so Critical Companion To John Steinbeck: A Literary Reference To His Life And Work will find many student readers; from high school to college. Here's a comprehensive biography which includes critical commentary on his novels, short stories, nonfiction and other works, discussing major themes, characters, film adaptations, and more. The blend of biography and critical reviews of all of Steinbeck's works provides students with all the background they need, handily under one cover.
... Read more

Product Description
Steinbeck's only work of fantasy literature-in an illustrated deluxe edition

John Steinbeck's retelling of Malory's beloved Arthurian stories will capture the attention and imagination of legions of Steinbeck fans, including those who love Arthurian romances, as well as countless readers of science fiction and fantasy literature. Featuring the icons of Arthurian legend-including King Arthur, Merlin, Morgan le Fay, the incomparable Queen Guinevere, and Arthur's purest knight, Sir Lancelot of the Lake-these enduring tales of loyalty and betrayal in the time of Camelot flicker with the wonder and magic of an era past but not forgotten. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

Incomplete but intriguing


This book actually contains two parts: an incomplete modernization of Thomas Malory's romance of the King Arthur legends and a series of letters John Steinbeck wrote to his agent and to a friend collaborating on the research for the project.

The stories start strangely, or rather badly. It's hard to avoid the question, "Why on earth would a writer of Steinbeck's caliber waste his time on such a project?" But then, slowly but surely, the stories improve and by the time they end -- well short of the Morte -- it's disappointing that the project sputtered out. (But someone reading this only to finish the compleat Steinbeck will still likely find this a baffling chore.)

What truly makes the book are the letters. While reading the stories, I started cataloging a significant list of their faults. In the letters, Steinbeck describes and analyzes these faults far better than I could. He talks about how Malory was learning how to write `on the job' (so the initial stories were bound to be weak), how Arthur isn't so much of a character as a symbol, how Malory goes into excess details on who defeated whom in the jousting lists (the medieval equivalent of reading the daily baseball scores, Steinbeck explains), etc. Steinbeck's letters describe in detail his struggles to take the edge of these problems and create a version of Malory's tales as if the man lived in the twentieth century and was trying to entertain an audience with a twentieth-century sensibility.

The only problem I found that Steinbeck doesn't discuss is how Malory seems to have discovered The Canterbury Tales midway through and to have felt liberated to expand what was included in the stories and that makes everything feel less coherent. So when Lancelot and his nephew want to sneak out of town to go on a quest and swear their squires to secrecy, "The squires imposed secrecy on their damsels, who in turn had the promise of their sisters, who told their lovers only after oaths had sealed their lips, until at last the king said, `I wish the they would be on their way, my dear. There are disturbing the whole city.'" This is pretty damn funny. Is it consistent with the tone of a romance? Well, probably not.

The letters themselves are wonderful. Not only do they have all kinds of gems of self- and literary analysis, they contain all manner of insights into Malory, the King Arthur legends -- even etymology of English place names and the motivations of Malory's publisher. So you get things like:

"In fact the only really unproductive times I can remember were those when there were no pressures. If my record has any meaning at all, it is that pressures are necessary to my creative survival -- an inelegant, even nauseating thought, but there it is. So maybe I had better pray not for surcease but for famine, plague, catastrophe, and bankruptcy. Then I would probably work like a son-of-a-bitch. I'm comparatively serious about this."

"Writers are a sorry lot. The best you can say of them is that they are better than actors and that's not much."

On Arthur becoming blander and more naive the more Jesus-like he becomes: "Think if you will of Jehovah in the Old Testament. There's a God who couldn't get the job as an apprentice in General Motors. He makes a mistake and then gets mad and breaks his toys. Think of Job. It almost seems that dopiness is required in literature."

But what really comes through in these letters is Steinbeck's unabashed enthusiasm for writing, life and Malory. Every page, except for a few dark letters that make me wonder whether he was bipolar, radiate this warmth. It was like he was humming `Ode to Joy' under his breath as he was sitting at his writing desk. He was bursting with ecstacy in a way that would make any writer feel envy.

And he was going completely berserk on research. Steinbeck's Arthurian legends probably hold some sort of record for being the most over-researched project in the annals of writing. He pursued all kinds of details that could hardly matter, doing much of the work in England, reading hundreds of books on the Middle Ages, relentlessly following up on details that couldn't possibly make their way into the final work (like having an Anglo-Saxon style axe made for himself so he could see the difference between them and modern axes). If someone had written an hundred-page treatise on how Malory tied his shoes, you could bet Steinbeck would have read it.

Very quickly into the letters, I was pretty pissed at the guy for dying before I was born -- I'll never be able to invite him over for dinner -- and by the end, once I could begin to grasp how enormous his vision was for this project, I felt sickened that he never finished what he started as it would have been a towering work. Who knows, maybe if he had finished it, he might have even won the Nobel Price for literature. [For the few humorless fussbudgets on Amazon, that was a joke.]

solid modernization of Arthur tales but not up to Malory
The Acts ofKing Arthur and his Noble Knights is Steinbecks last novel and was published after his death. It is more episodic more like a tale collection than a true novel but writing characterization and other storytelling aspects are of high quality. It falls short of top level Steinbeck and is not up toMalory as well. You can tell Steinbeck loved the original work it was the book which inspired him to be a writer of fiction but he clearly is being as much interpreter as creator here. Asolid book but not close to five stars closer to three but since there is no 3.5 rating available I give it 4

incompletely read ---- but --- egad! what a booke!
I lived briefly in the "Hamptons", not long before John Steinbeck passed away.I first encountered this book at The State University of New York at StonyBrook. Portions of this book exceed genius...the description of Merlin's entrapment by Nimue (Vivian, or Nyneve, depending on your preference)...the sight of King Arthur on the battlements, weeping over his known fate, as seen by a younger man, the training of a knight in the tiltyard of the Lady Lynne, and the ensorcelment and ensnarement of Lancelot by the three Witches---North Galys, Arthur's sister (Morgan Le Fay) and one other (to be emended later), the mistaking by a knight of another night asleep in his tent for his lady--and the ensuing brawl, and the besmirching by three young women of a knight's shield.The gamut of emotions, from sadness, amusement, nobility, abasement is played on the human soul with expert depiction by Mr. Steinbeck.He halted and experienced "writer's block" at the story of Arthur and Guinevere, the betrayal by Lancelot du Lac, presumably as he could not dis-entangle his own emotions and experiences from Arthur's.Someday, I will make and have the time to read this cover to cover, if I have not done so already, and have merely forgotten that I have so done.

King Arthur for Adults
As one of the other reviewer wrote, this is not the Arthur that some of us grew up on. This is a dark Arthur who Merlin declares is forsaken by God. Even though this is a darker book it is easier to relate to Arthur in this book. He is no knight in shining armor. He is a man like us all that has some very serious faults. He makes many mistakes but tries to press on forward. Steinbeck seems to focus a little more on the more sinister side of being a king and Arthur's fallen human nature.

I have to say, there are only two things that I didn't like about this version:

First, it ends too quickly. Sadly, Steinbeck died before he could finish this. That said, it is a treasure to behold and the open ending pushing your imagination to make your own conclusion. But I still wish there more.

Second, Sir Gawain, my favorite knight, is an arrogant, braggart in Steinbeck's Arthur. In all other Arthurian literature I love Gawain but in this I wanted someone to run him through. His cockiness oozes off the pages. But, maybe the reason I can't stand him in this version is because he reflects some of my less than favorable traits that I hate...

All in all this is a great and little known book. I would caution parents from getting it for their kids under 14 because of how dark it is and some of the adult situations. King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table (Puffin Classics) is a good choice for the younger ones.

This book can be summed up with this:

Rich Characters
Amazing Writing
Timeless Story

Age Of Chivalry, Rebooted
At one stray moment in "Acts Of King Arthur And His Noble Knights", a lazy knight named Sir Lyonel is pressured to join his uncle Lancelot on a quest. In casual conversation, he catches a glimpse of Lancelot's heroic nature, staring unblinking in the face of doom.

"...suddenly Sir Lyonel knew why Lancelot would gallop down the centuries, spear in rest, gathering men's hearts on his lance head like tilting rings."

In "Acts Of King Arthur", written in the 1950s but unpublished until 1976, John Steinbeck tries to do the same for us, explaining the world of Arthurian legend so as to make us understand its singular appeal in an age of TV cowboys and atomic bombs.

Steinbeck largely succeeds, though not without difficulty. His "Acts" is a scattershot collection of stories that gathers steam only after leaving behind Arthur himself and most of the best-known elements of his storyline to delve into the marrow of lesser tales. There, Steinbeck grasps the opportunity to marry his own modern sensibilities to the centuries-old legends he retells.

In the book's final and finest chapter, Lancelot is confronted by a jealous knight who catches him up in a tree without his sword. Building a fire, he tells Lancelot to come down and get what's coming to him. Lancelot asks how the knight can scruple to slay an unarmed foe.

"I will recover from my shame before you grow a new head, my friend," the caitiff knight replies.

Lancelot manages to get out of this hazard, only to discover another kind when old friend Sir Kay, managing Camelot's larder and tasked with feeding every passing knight, tells him how miserable the job has made him, worn down by "the nibbling of numbers."

It's a dynamic way to read of Camelot's glory, dealing with such out-of-time concerns in a recognizably Arthurian way, but it took time for Steinbeck to reach this level of fluency. As an appendix of Steinbeck's correspondence during this project reveals, he found it hard work recrafting the stories of his middle-English sources without losing the beauty of its poetry, which had attracted him as a young boy.

Only the chapter on Lancelot, and the one before it featuring three quests carried out by Sir Gawain, Sir Ewain, and Sir Marhalt, manage to pull this off completely. On their own the two chapters provide brilliant reading of pure fantasy and escape, not to mention more than half of the book's sizable page count.

Elsewhere, a seemingly more tentative Steinbeck plows through the story of the Sword and the Stone, rushes the wizard Merlin to his untimely doom, and barely pauses long enough to allow his title character to pick up his fabled sword Excalibur. It's decent storytelling, just not that enthralling. Arthur is seen as a bumbler and, in one instance, quite brutal, something Steinbeck had in his source texts and was determined to keep in. It's hard at times to think why Steinbeck would think such a character would carry our enthusiasm, a problem he deals with by shuffling Arthur to the sidelines for most of the book.

Yet as "Acts" moves along to its two closing chapters, it, like Sir Lyonel, finds that enthusiasm, prying out the child in many an older, cynical reader and transporting him or her to a place of wide-eyed wonder and enchantment. It's a shame Steinbeck never finished what he started, but what he creates here is no less special for its unpolished beauty. ... Read more

Product Description
Today, nearly forty years after his death, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck remains one of America’s greatest writers and cultural figures. Over the next year, his many works published as black-spine Penguin Classics for the first time and will feature eye-catching, newly commissioned art.

Penguin Classics is proud to present these seminal works to a new generation of readers—and to the many who revisit them again and again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (29)

Yesteryear
Very good book on sea of cortez and baja of old. First Stienbeck I have read and like it a lot. People that like sea stories and mexico will enjoy, recommend it mightily.

Book Review
The Log from the Sea of Cortez is definitely a classic book.I read this book years ago before I travelled down Baja California.Things have changed greatly since Steinbeck traveled to the area.I noticed it was missing from my library and decided it was a definite re-read - and keeper.

Best travel book I've ever read
With WW2 kicking off, Steinbeck, who was trained as a marine biologist, cruises Baja.The spirit of the book, particularly in the context of the time the events occurred, the excellent writing and narrative, made for some of the best reading in recent memory for me.

The Log is More Than Half The Story
If you intend to read Steinbeck's Sea of Cortez you can do it two ways. You can order the book Sea of Cortez and get the full benefit of Steinbeck and Rickett's exploration of the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), or you can order this book which only contains Steinbeck's observations and color commentary, leaving out Rickett's technical information. If you are a fan of Steinbeck, the log is both entertaining and informative and pure Steinbeck in that he exhibits that meandering curiosity that began here (1941) but was still evident in Travels with Charley twenty years later. This is non-fiction Steinbeck, so don't expect Mice and Men or Grapes of Wrath. Still, I read this as the whole Sea of Cortez more than two decades ago and had to come back and order both the Log and the entire Sea of Cortez, just to be sure I have it on my shelf again.

An unusual journey
This is a very unique book. It certainly is a travelogue, but not merely so. The complete volume, jointly written by Steinbeck and Ricketts, would contain more than 600 pages and have another part of cataloging of the marine animals they found on this trip, which the Penguin edition omits. It is a very enjoyable read, although the part of teleological vs. non-teleological thinking which occupies a whole long chapter (which reputedly was written by Ricketts) was dry and drawn-out and does not fit with the flow of the book. Other scattered ruminations throughout the book of man, nature, world view, etc. are a bit more tolerable. The descriptions of the species are uneven, the parts on Sally Lightfoot, tube worms, manta rays, etc. are quite vivid, but some other parts resemble catalog entries -- which I don't really view as a weakness as you cannot possibly describe all the species in great details. The description of the crew is especially funny and entertaining, and you can really see the personalities of the crew: Tony, Tiny, Sparky and Tex. I think this is really the highlight of the book.

Because the log was co-written by both men, there is not much mentioning of Ed Ricketts (as you read the book, you tend to read it through the eye of Steinbeck, so the absence of Ed Ricketts is a bit odd). And of course, as others pointed out, there is no mentioning of Steinbeck's wife who also made the journey (they divorced shortly after the trip), except a very vague hint after 200 or so pages.

There is also an appendix of a memorial/biography/obituary of Ed Ricketts by Steinbeck, shortly after Ricketts' tragic death. It is a very vivid and funny, even lighthearted account, but I suspect it is also somewhat fictionalized.

Despite its flaws, I still like this book very much. One only wish that Steinbeck had written more non-fictions, especially on travels and the nature. It is a pity that he didn't.

... Read more

Product Description
Today, nearly forty years after his death, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck remains one of America’s greatest writers and cultural figures. We have begun publishing his many works for the first time as blackspine Penguin Classics featuring eye-catching, newly commissioned art. This season we continue with the seven spectacular and influential books East of Eden, Cannery Row, In Dubious Battle, The Long Valley, The Moon Is Down, The Pastures of Heaven, and Tortilla Flat. PenguinClassics is proud to present these seminal works to a new generation of readers—and to the many who revisit them again and again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (45)

"Anybody That Wants a Living Wage is a Radical"
John Steinbeck's 1936 novel, In Dubious Battle, follows a labor strike by apple pickers who are attempting to combat a reduction in wages.The novel mainly focuses on the efforts of Jim Nolan, a new member of the Communist Party, who is mentored by Mac McLeod, a long time Party member and experienced labor organizer.Together, these two men try to motivate (and manipulate) the disgruntled workers into standing up for themselves against the land owners who have cut back their salaries.

Nolan is emblematic of the disenfranchised worker.He comes from poverty and has watched his father fight against the system only to be beaten down by it.His mother took solace in religion, but it also provided no answers, merely a short, hard miserable life.Jim eschews vices like drinking and smoking, as well as the company of women, mainly because he doesn't want to get "nibbled to death" by responsibilities that stem from having a family to care for.He only feels alive when he's fighting the system.

Mac is more cynical than Nolan, willing to use anything and anyone to achieve his goals.He coaches the younger man on the best ways to organize the striking workers, but also draws strength from the fiery Nolan.

As the novel unfolds, it becomes clear that there are two sides surrounding the striking men.On one side are the interests of the land owners and on the other, the interests of the radicals.The outcome of the strike itself (and the men involved) becomes less important than the statement it sends to the other side.The landowners wish to crush the strike to make it clear that their authority is absolute and to prevent future challenges to that authority.The radical organizers don't care whether the strike succeeds or not, so long as it inspires more men to join their cause.Lost in the middle are the men who merely want to work for a decent living and need the strike to make their point.

Steinbeck doesn't take either side, but his compelling characters and descriptive prose illustrate the conflict, painting a portrait informed by reality.I enjoyed this novel almost as much as The Grapes of Wrath (Penguin Classics), East of Eden, and Cannery Row: (Centennial Edition).If you're a fan of Steinbeck's writing and haven't read this one yet, make sure you pick it up.

Steinbeck never disappoints
John Steinbeck's "In Dubious Battle" is set in a fictional valley in California as a group of migrant apple workers go on strike. The story is propelled along at a quick pace as the situation worsens with each passing day. This is Steinbeck's first in his labor trilogy ("Of Mice and Men" and "The Grapes of Wrath" followed). You can see the beginnings of those classics in this one. I read it in a day on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Little known work
I am a big Steinbeck fan and have read most of his books.I like them all, but this one is a very gripping tale about farm labor and unions in the California central valley.It is a very moving book.

For the Party
Unlike Steinbeck's other works, "In Dubious Battle" exhibits much more of a social conscience toward the need of the average man.Aside from "The Grape of Wrath" and "The Moon is Down", this trait of Steinbeck is not always evident in his work.Although communism is never mentioned by name, the book is centered around the laborers that organize in a fruit strike in the California Valley.In his storytelling, flaws are revealed on both ends of the spectrum so it would be inaccurate to call this book pro-communist.Yet the pro-labor leanings expressed in the book may reveal a preference.

Jim Nolan is new to the movement, leaving his past life with the idea of making a difference.While he initially seems to be the main character, the focus becomes quite broad."The party" plans to incite a strike and seeks employment as pickers with this in mind.As the plot is sets up, the story moves somewhat slowly in the initial pages.The reader may find himself/herself waiting for the descent to begin as rage gradually builds among the workers.

As the strike begins, the characters begin to take shape in a form similar to characters in Steinbeck's other works.As the rules of working life are removed, some of the men struggle without structure in their lives.While Jim becomes familiar with the life of the party, Mac and London act as a guiding force with the future in mind.However, Doc is the steady force in the novel as he provides a remarkably objective eye toward the movement.Although his role is less prominent, he may be the most complete character in the book.

My only real disappointment in the novel is that I felt it ended to abruptly.The factions are headed toward what is seemingly their ultimate clash as the story draws to a close.While the answer of a war between communist and capitalistic ideas has seemingly been won in the real world, one has to wonder how it ended in the world created by John Steinbeck.

A Story of Struggle
This book is solid.Steinbeck engages with the reader with symbolic themes such as struggle of the exploited proletariat and the dissenting views of 1930's America in this story about the rise of a local fruit pickers strike.As usual, Steinbeck does a great job throwing the reader into a vivid setting he has created- while at the same immersing the reader into the everyday struggle of the "working class" American with nothing to lose.Steinbeck's inclusion of real characters who are not shy to have a opposing opinion about the importance of the drive of the primary protagonists plays an vital role in the story.A must read for anyone fascinated with the frustrations of everyday workers, including their failure and successes. ... Read more

Product Description
For the first time in one volume, the early California writings of one of America's greatest novelists have been collected, including the seminal works, Tortilla Flat and Of Mice and Men, tracing his early growth and evolution. 20,000 first printing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Junius Maltby
Included in this compilation is the short story, Junius Maltby.Like another reviewer, I often pick this story up to reread- its just that good.Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.I gain perspective every time I read it.

Steinbeck = Good
The guy is the best writer ever.That's that.If you disagree with me, you are an idiot.

Great book
I love reading this bood I think that is a Great book to read for any one who love reading books.

Great works
I recently visited Monterey and upon my return home, I became obsessed with Steinbecks novels as many of them focus on this beautiful city.This collection is a great reminder of lifes ups and downs, friendship, and perserverance.Very easy to read and relate to.

Steinbeck's classics delivered in a wonderful manner
I purchased this book because it was the first place where I read my favorite story, Of Mice and Men. It was delivered within three days of purchase. I am very very satisfied in the book, and the experience ... Read more

Product Description
John Steinbeck Sears Edition First Edition East of Eden. Classic American literature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Beautiful and Competlling
My goodness, what an absolutely outstanding book - I could not put it down. It brought me to tears many times as it caused me some serious reflection.The characters were vivid, sentance structure was pure art, and sometimes I actually felt like I knew the people and could completely relate to the complex drama of family secrets and the petty shames many of us (me too) locked into our smallness.At 601 pages, I was done easily in under a week.It was well worth my time and I believe a very compelling narrative on free will from a Christian perspective.

This book is very relevant, well placed historically, and a testament to freedom and the creative potential of the human spirit.

"Timshel - Thou Mayest makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods...That gives a choice, the way is open - can choose his course and fight it through and win...This is a ladder to climb to the stars...A path is open, new and bright...Thou mayest rule over sin...You must master it."

"The lightning shattered the air into quaking pieces."

East Of Eden
THIS BOOK TOOK ME A WHILE TO READ, BUT I'M GLAD IT DID. IT GAVE ME A LOT OF THINGS TO THINK ABOUT, AND I WAS NEVER DISAPPOINTED. SAD YES, LOT'S OF TEARS DID FORM. IT HAS AWESOME THEMES, AND CHARACTERS. EVEN THE CHARACTERS YOU THOUGH YOU HATED TO BEGIN WITH, YOUR IDEAS OF THEM CHANGE, BECAUSE THEY CHANGED. THEY REALIZE THINGS THAT DIDN'T REALIZE BEFORE. THIS IS ONE OF THE WAYS YOU CAN TELL A GREAT BOOK FROM A GOOD BOOK. THE CHARACTERS ARE ALL THREE DEMSIONAL FULLY FORMED PEOPLE, THAT YOU FEEL YOU KNOW. SAMUEL, HAD INSIGHT, BELIEFS AND HOPES. HE HAD CHILDREN THAT HE WISHED THE WORLD FOR, AND FRIENDS THAT HE INFLUENCED. THIS STORY DEMOSTRATES THE RELATION BETWEEN MAN AND WOMAN, AND HUMAN, AND HOW LOVE CAN BE AS, CRIPPLING AS IT IS PLEASURABLE, THIS IS BOOK IS A DEFINITE READ.

Great American Literature
John Steinbeck is an insightful, observant writer and East of Eden is a supreme example of his work.The characters are at once both absolute realism and larger-than-life symbols.Life blooms from each page as moral lessons are deduced without preaching.Well worth the time to read. ... Read more

Product Description
Today, nearly forty years after his death, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck remains one of America’s greatest writers and cultural figures. Over the next year, his many works, beginning with the six shown here, will be published as black-spine Penguin Classics for the first time and will feature eye-catching, newly commissioned art.

Of this initial group of six titles, The Wayward Bus is in a new edition. An imaginative and unsentimental chronicle of a bus traveling California’s back roads. This allegorical novel of pilgrimage includes a new introduction by Gary Scharnhorst.

Penguin Classics is proud to present these seminal works to a new generation of readers—and to the many who revisit them again and again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Mixed
Reading the story involved a continual type of experience-formed tension, a sort of race running within my enjoyment, involving a contest between all the characters being fascinatingly neurotic and all the characters being neurotically irksome. On the whole the former element won out and I enjoyed the book, but there were definitely some cracks and underwhelming sections. The novel looks at different aspects of ambition and frustrated ambition in the fulcrum of a single busride crossing from the United States to Mexico. It's a pretty strong indictment of different aspects of class-bound prejudice, blindness and at points fundamental mental disconnect. The families in this novel cry out for qualified psychological help more than even most famous novels and the process of the book shows some rather amusing points linked to the main presentation. There's no main central chracer or unifying plot beyond watching these people exchange with each other, so it sparkles when the encounters are believable and damning, and falls flat when it becomes too much. It does at times, but mostly functions effectively to intrigue with the vivid imagination of somewthing like realism.

There's an enormous focus on sexuality in the book, traced from various sides and with a lot of depicted hang ups over it. That component shows the main success as well as disconnect in the story, as Steinbeck often made a quite arch narrative point but then moved on to some rather dated or essentialized claim regarding erotics that I found rather jarring. Not a bad book but neither is it exactly excellent, and for all the forthwhile elements and easy reading pattern it has some jarring elements. In a way reading this book immediately after Desolation Road and To the Lighthouse is approrpriate, as it contains elements of the main pattern from both books mixed together. It's a weird mix, but better and more fun for reading than might be expected.

Worse than: In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck
Better than: The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Hitch a ride on a bus called "Sweetheart" as you take a Steinbeck ride in "The Wayward Bus"
The Wayward Bus was published by John Steinbeck (1902-68 in 1947. It is a short minor classic which is a quick and enjoyable read.
The story has little plot. It is focused on a diner/garage called Rebel Corners located in California. At the diner we are introduced to several fascinating and complex Americans. The novel's chief characters are:
Juan Chacoy-Half Mexican, half Irish and all man. Juan is the bus driver who keeps the old vehicle on the road.
Some critics have seen his initials JC to be a tipoff that he is a Christ figure. Juan bleeds when he works on his bus indicating a blood atonement. He contemplates leaving Alice to return to Mexico but in the end decides to rescue the passengers who have been stranded when the bridge across the river falls down. He can be seen as a redeemer figure. Juan is the most interesting person in the book.
Alice is the slatternly, coarse and often drunk wife of Juan. She is bored with life at the diner; sarcastic and filled with self-pity and despair at her conditon. Juan often contemplates leaving her and returning to Mexico.
The couple is childless.In a brilliant chapter we probe into her thoughts as she drinks herself into a stupor.
Ernest Horton is a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor who has been reduced to selling absurd novelty items. He is a Willy Loman type salesman who has ideas of making tons of money in the future. He represents the return of World War II veterans to everyday life. As the novel ends, Ernest is planning to meet Camille Oates at a swank hotel in Los Angeles. He is a gentleman who refrains from bragging about his wartime heroics. He was presented the CMA by President Harry Truman.
The Pritchards are a Midwest family on the way to a vacation in Mexico:
Elliot Pritchard (hints of T.S. Eliot's "J.
Alfred Prufrock") is a prissy CEO of a Midwest corporation. He reminds this reviewer of Sinclair Lewis' businessman George Babbitt. Elliot is a Republican, Lodge Member and prim and proper member of upper middle class life. He rapes his wife in a horrific scene where the couple is waiting for the bus to be repaired. He tries to get Camille Oakes to become his secretary but she refuses. He is a repugnant hypocrite! Ugh!
Bernice Pritchard is also prim and proper. Her anger against Elliot has been repressed for many years of their marriage. She is sexually cold and enjoys writing letters to friends. She has a strained relationshp with her daughter. She is not very bright and is an object of pity.
Mildred (Mild red due to her flirtation with Communism in college). She is a nubile and lovely college student hoping to bone up on Spanish on the Mexican vacation. She longs to flee from her dull and conventional parents.
She will have sex with Juan in a barn. Juan was on foot in his quest to find a repair shop open to get the old bus going again after it had become stuck in the mud. The barn has a broken windmill next to it reminding the reader of Don Quixote tilting at windmills.She is sexually ripe and is jealous of the charms of Camille Oakes.
Pimples is the woman man and pie loving teenage assistant to Juan. He is there for comic relief. He tries to seduce Camille Oakes and Norma the waitress who leaves Rebel Corners on the bus seeking a better life in Los Angeles. He claims to be related to Kit Carson the great explorer of the American West.
Norma is star struck imagining Clark Gable as her lover. She is a girl seeking love and freedom.
Camille Oakes (played by Marilyn Monroe in the film "Bus Stop:) is the sexy lady who makes her living stripping for men at stag events. She is worldly wise but rejects the men who target her for sexual favors.
The novel has resonances of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Boccacio's Decameron in an early post World War II America. The characters all feel trapped and are seeking a better life.
This is an excellent work of fiction by the great John Steinbeck that is well worth a close reading!

4.5/5 Star - A favorite by Steinbeck
I'm so glad I finally read The Wayward Bus, as it did not disappoint.The entire story takes place over a two day period in post WWII (1947). A group of very different people board a bus driven by 50 something, Juan Chicoy, Juan and his wife Alice operate a small luncheonette at Rebels Corners. Juan also is a mechanic, and drives a bus from Rebels Corners to San Juan de la Cruz. Juan is bored with his life and routine, and on this particular trip, heavy rains and an unsafe bridge, has Juan taking an alternate dirt road route. The passengers end up stranded, when the bus becomes stuck in the mud, and Juan tells the group he plans to walk to get help.

Now what really frames the central story is the relationships of all of the characters. Each of characters, in one way or another, are unhappy with their life : bored, love issues, frustrations, additions etc. There is a pimple-faced teenager with raging hormones, a beautiful but promiscuous young woman, a dysfunctional but conservative husband and wife and their college daughter, a shy insecure waitress who dreams of being an actress and writes letters to Clark Gable, and a few others as well.Will these individuals recognize that they need to make changes in order to improve their lives?

The Wayward Bus, gave great insight into what life was like for every day people in the 1940s. A terrific character driven novel in which I suspect that many readers might find at least one of these passengers someone they could relate to.It's not a happy story, but it is one that should hold your interest and make you think. RECOMMENDED

Excellent Character Study by a True Master
As a life-long fan of John Steinbeck, I recommend almost all of his books."Cup of Gold" probably won't bear re-reading, and "Sea of Cortez" is highly technical, but those are the exceptions.His best stories are in "The Long Valley" which is fine."The Wayward Bus" is very satisfying as Steinbeck develops every character, focusing on internal urges, hidden desires, and laying bare everyone's soul.There are quotable passages, of course; one I like is about Pimples, aka Kit: "His whole system and his soul were a particularly violent battleground of adolescence."See also the passage about the calendars on p. 5.For those who admire finished writing while becoming engrossed in a satisfying story, Steinbeck is the one to read.Highly recommended.

Less popular than Cannery Row for good reason
A random group of people who all end up on a bus together in California. Some of the people are respected by the group (a couple that has a "perfect marriage" and their daughter, a beautiful girl, a businessman) and some are generally ignored by the group (the bus driver, a boy and girl who worked in his shop and the attached diner, and an old man). Most of them are unhappy when the book starts and unhappy when it ends. If it helps any, two of them might be slightly happier. If you're looking for a book like Cannery Row, read Sweet Thursday and skip this one. ... Read more

Product Description
A STANDOUT in the Steinbeck canon, Cup of Gold is edgy and adventurous, brash and distrustful of society, and sure to add a new dimension to the common perception of this all-American writer. Steinbeck’s first novel and sole work of historical fiction contains themes that resonate throughout the author’s prodigious body of work.

From the mid-1650s through the 1660s, Henry Morgan, a pirate and outlaw of legendary viciousness, ruled the Spanish Main. He ravaged the coasts of Cuba and America, striking terror wherever he went. And he had two driving ambitions: to possess the beautiful woman called La Santa Roja, and to conquer Panama, the “cup of gold.” ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Barely Steinbeck
Recently, I read a burst of six Steinbecks in seven weeks. I then decided to do things right and proper and read the rest of his works in chronological order. This, of course, meant starting with _The Cup of Gold_, a 1929 `buccaneer' novel. The story loosely follows the historical career of the Welsh pirate Henry Morgan.

To be blunt, unless you are some mission to read all of Steinbeck, this one can be skipped. The first half is basically a boy's adventure novel of the sort particularly popular at the time: violent yet innocent, dangerous but fun, with easy emotions and an absentminded but proud certainty in the superiority of Anglo-American men. In short, good clean fun.

But from the perspective of an adult, this novel feels awfully slight. One reads it to find glimmers of the later of Steinbeck, but there isn't much. The pacing feels off (or rather simplistic). The characters are generally one-dimensional; the dialogue, trite. The thing tastes like flat Coke. Those inspired moments are rare: a sentence here and there. The longest `nice touch' is a third of a page in which a woman frets that the new nervous curate is too young to provide enough gravity for the baptism of her son, whom she is certain is destined for greatness.

The second half of the novel feels very different. It jumps forward abruptly ten years and has Morgan in what amounts to a midlife crisis that he attempts to address by winning the love of a reputed beauty who may not even exist. (She supposedly lives in Spanish Panama, the `cup of gold' in the title.) What happens when Morgan is on the verge of getting what he thought he wanted undoubtedly baffled contemporary readers. The tone goes from the Hardy Boys to an intense -- but ultimately half-baked -- psychological realism that is in part dependent upon what feminists now call a `rape myth' [cringe]. There's a kind of daring to what Steinbeck attempted, but it doesn't really work. Morgan's desires are unclear (even to himself); the novel repeatedly jumps past what seem like the most interesting events. If there's any pleasure in it today, it's like that of listening to a symphony warm-up: anticipation of what's to come next, for this curious book was published little more than half a dozen years before Steinbeck became one of the most brightly shining American literary flames.

One cool gesture in all of this: the book begins and ends with references to Merlin and Steinbeck's final published piece was his unfinished updating of Malory's legends of King Arthur, meaning the Steinbeck's career nicely started where it ended.

Wonderful Steinbeck
If you are a Steinbeck fan then you will appreciate the "adjective enriched" style of John Steinbeck.My only complaint is the book is too short!

respectable but clearly a first novel
Cup of Gold is the first novel by John Steinbeck and shows it. The dialogue and description are mawkish and show the influences of Donn Byrne and James Cabell who Steinbeck admired in his youth.Steinbeck becomes more restrained in his prose later on and he wrote about hings he was better at writing about but Cup of Gold is worth reading it shows glimpses of his skill in the characterization and the way Steinbeck is efficient in moving his story and getting you involved

Life lessons woven into story
"Cup of Gold" is Steinbeck's first published novel. Although it is not as well-written as his more famous novels--"East of Eden" or "The Grapes of Wrath"--it is still an entertaining tale with some interesting life lessons woven into the narrative.

Steinbeck's first novel

This was John Steinbeck's first novel and it explores the idea of the great man who is unconvinced of his own greatness. The story is about pirate Henry Morgan who, through perseverance, pluck, intelligence, and bravery becomes the most feared pirate in the Caribbean, eventually capturing "The Cup of Gold" - Panama. He hopes, along with this prize, to gain the love of the beautiful La Santa Roja. But she spurns him and out of bitterness Morgan ransoms her to her husband for 20,000 pieces of eight. Now he begins to doubt himself and his accomplishments and goes into a funk that even being knighted and being made the governor of Jamaica can't cure. He dies a mysterious death in his sleep.

Shakespeare wrote, "Many men have died and worms have eaten them, but not for love," but Morgan never got the message. He loses La Santa Roja and he's a goner. Unfortunately, Steinbeck hadn't developed the means yet to really capture what was going on with his characters. His writing seems unnatural and affected by the 17th century setting than anything real. The historical novel was not his forte, and he never attempted another one. This initial effort was not a good indication of what talented work lay ahead. ... Read more

Product Description
'A man can't scrap his bloodline, can't snip the thread of immortality.' Such is the strength of Joe Saul's desperate longing for a child, that he feels as if a dark curse is upon him after three unfruitful years of marriage. Yet unbeknown to him, he is sterile. His beautiful, young, devoted wife loves him so much that she secretly conceives the child of another man. But when Joe discovers her deception, his anguish is greater than ever before...This is a powerful, tragic and deeply moving tale. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

an interesting experiment
Burning Bright is probably the most experimental of Steinbecks novels. He has four character and he tells their stories in three radically different scenarios as circus workers a farmer and his helpers and a seaman and his small crew. The characters are a 50 year old man his best friend his much younger wife and a youngman. I wont detail what happens but it is well done The book has only four chapters only 143 pages of actual text. The first two chapters are too long and this keeps the book from 5 stars but it is still very good. One of his most obscure novels but one worth reading

a superb classic from the master
a very different, creative love story with -as always- very powerfull imagery style of Steinbeck. A must read with its passion in it and unusual story which continues three different environment with same characters and without annoying or disturbing the reader even a bit. The book emphasizes the generosity of acceptance and humanity in it.

Into the Darkness
John Steinbeck is one of the great American writers of the twentieth century.His was the ability to paint vivid and stark portraits of America and its people in a minimal amount of words."Burning Bright" is written in a style Steinbeck referred to as 'play-novelette', a short novel that reads like a play and one that could easily be adapted as such.The story is necessarily compact to fit this format, but Steinbeck explores emotions and actions that reach far beyond the page.

Joe Saul is a man who is eager to pass on his knowledge and his blood to a son.His first wife died childless, while his second wife, Mordeen, has yet to conceive after three years of marriage.Joe Saul is beginning to wonder if the problem lies with him.Mordeen, while younger than Joe Saul by many years, is deeply in love with him and would do anything because of that love.She knows of his desperation for a child and takes matters into her own hands, using a fellow worker as the surrogate father, letting Joe believe that he has finally conceived a son.Yet as the story progresses towards its climax, Joe discovers Mordeen's secret action and must come to terms with what this child means to him.

"Burning Bright" is a fast-paced, dialogue-driven exploration of what people will do for those they love.It is a question that readers can identify with, and Steinbeck offers answers that are truthful and just.The universal storyline shines with intensity and focus, putting it in excellent company with other short Steinbeck works such as "Cannery Row" and "Of Mice and Men".

Steinbeck's most cliché work
Burning Bright is, no doubt, a beautiful story that captures raw human emotion under particularly trying circumstances.It is an easy read, and perhaps were it any other author I would have rated the book with 5 stars, but this is not Steinbeck's most creative writing.

For a beautiful story about life's struggles and the battle of a man against his own conscience, read Steinbeck's The Winter of Our Discontent.For a story that truly captures the human ability to overcome life's disappointments, read Steinbeck's The Red Pony.To witness true literary art and Steinbeck's ability to describe interesting people, their tiny quirks and interesting antics, read Steinbeck's The Pastures of Heaven.

This book is worth reading, but please don't draw any conclusions about Steinbeck's creative and artistic talents from this alone - he has far better work, even in the short story category, that will leave the reader enchanted and wishing the pages would never end.

Trapped in a Paradox
In reading almost all of John Steinbeck's work, this one has to be one of my favorites.Exploring a situation in which human emotions are pushed to the edge, the reader knows what is going to happen.Yet in much the same way drivers crane their necks to see an accident on the highway, the reader goes on in fascination.

Joe Saul's first wife died without bearing him a child.His second wife Mordeen has yet to bear him a child.The strain of not having a child is wearing on Joe Saul's happiness, forcing his wife to take action.Most people believe Joe Saul is the reason his wives were never able to conceive.With the seedy Victor as a suitor, Mordeen becomes pregnant while Joe Saul assumes he is the father.Just as Joe Saul's world could not get any brighter, Mordeen's lie begins to unravel.The reader only discovers in the final pages if Joe Saul will accept "his child".

John Steinbeck's ability to paint human emotions in detail is in peak form in "Burning Bright"While this work is not as noted as some of his other works, it certainly deserves to be ranked among his elite work. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
This collection of letters forms a fascinating day-by-day account of Steinbeck's writing of "East of Eden", his longest and most ambitious novel. The letters, ranging over many subjects - textual discussion, trial flights of workmanship, family matters - provide an illuminating perspective on Steinbeck, the creative genius, and a private glimpse of Steinbeck, the man. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Warning...Warning...Warning!!!!
Stay away from this book, far away from it unless you have read or are familiar with "East of Eden."Without that background, this book is a tough, tough read, seemingly making little or no sense at all.

The book is comprised of Steinbeck's daily handwritten notes to his editor on the daily handwritten manuscript. As one might expect, a working knowledge of "East of Eden" is essential to understand and fully appreciate those notes.

This book does in fact trace the beginning and development of a novel.It offers a good look at the creative, formative process of a novel, and a revealing inside look at Steinbeck the man. Frankly his notes (this book) reads like a continuming and seemingly endless Twitter to his best friend. Steinbeck's insecurities, the anguish of good writing and his eccentric demands and expectations from gift-giving (and gift-getting) to demanding that his editor send him a special kind of lead pencil by the dozen to write with and special paper to write on.

There are some good (neat) references to events of 1952 when the book was written, things like openings of Broadway shows and Bobby Thompson's epic homerun that won the National League Pennant for the New York Giants ("The Giants win the pennant...the Giants win the pennant"...that game) Steinbeck calls it the greatest baseball game ever played.

A few gems of wisdom and comment on the human condition are here, but they are too few and too far spreadout....the weight of the haystack overcomes the few golden needles to be found here.

Frankly, without a knowledge and appreciaton of "East of Eden," trying to read this book is enough to make you want to give up reading.

John Steinbeck . . . wise as ol' Solomon . . .
John Steinbeck wrote this journal back in 1951 at the age of 50, while writing "East of Eden," one of the greatest American novels of the 20th century and, Steinbeck thought, his best up to that point.The journal shows the introspection of Steinbeck's creative mind, as well as his musings as he interacts with his family.For fans of Steinbeck's genius and far-reaching wisdom, this book is a must read.My only criticism of the book is that at the end there's an interaction between Steinbeck and his publisher, which is a great read; unfortunately, it's way too short!

Peering inside Steinbeck
Fantastic "Mind of the Writer" memoir.Steinbeck gives us an unfiltered view of his writing process during one of his most challenging projects.

Unique Insight into Workings of a Writer's Mind
This book gives the reader a unique insight into the day-to-day thoughts and workings of a writer's mind.Steinbeck may not be to everyone's taste, but he can't be denied his place in American literary history.It's difficult to imagine any writer being so honest about the problems he faced in trying to produce a book of this kind - an effort that is recorded every step of the way by this determined but troubled writer

Interesting, but not revealing
I am a major John Steinbeck fan, and rate Mr. Steinbeck as the finest writer in American history. However, I am lukewarm about "Journal of a Novel," Steinbeck's daily account of the trials of writing his most difficult work, East of Eden, from January through October, 1951.

I was hoping that the journal, addressed to his good friend and editor Pascal Covici, would reveal much about Steinbeck the writer and the man.

However, there is very little of the former except repeated brief accounts of the self-doubt and ups and downs a writer endures while creating a long and complex piece of literature. There are only hints of the technical or mental processes involved his writing.

And the same applies to autobiographical information about this period of his life. There is a lot of the trivia of daily life without the real depth of observation and feeling that is shown in other books of his letters.

He was a master at letter writing, and to find and know the real John Steinbeck, I strongly suggest "Steinbeck: A Life in Letters" edited by Elaine Steinbeck and Robert Wallsten. ... Read more

Product Description
This reassessment of John Steinbeck, Nobel Prize-winner, draws on the remniscences of his wife and friends, and on Steinbeck's own huge legacy of letters, diaries and manuscripts, to create a portrait of a writer who established himself through sheer hard work, and whose greatest works captured the desperation and indignation experienced by ordinary Americans during the Great Depression. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Great author - poor biography
I am a big John Steinbeck fan.I was hoping for a biography to help me understand the man a little more.What I got was a critique of his writings.The author took great enjoyment in showing how he interpreted the Steinbeck writings.Hey, we have read the books and can form our own opinions!The biography was so long-winded that I found myself skipping entire sections.So, I was disappointed that the book was not a true biography of the man.The biography is in there, you just have to muddle through the author's side tracks to see it.I don't know of another biography to recommend since this is the first I tried, spurred on by the glowing reviews.Maybe I missed something and it is a great biography, but not for me personally.

John Steinbeck: An insightful biography of the Nobel Prize Winning Californian
John Steinbeck (1902-1968) was born into a middle class family in Salinas
California at the dawn of the twentieth century. He was coddled by his three sisters; dealt with the coldness of a distant father; was loved by a stern though loving mother. Steinbeck dropped out of Stanford; worked in a series of blue collar manual labor job and continued to write outstanding novels and short stories.
Along the way as we travel with John we meet Ed Ricketts the marine biologist who served as a father figure to Steinbeck. Steinbeck wrote in an easily understable style being dubbed the poor man's Hemingway. He wed three times. Carol the longsuffering wife who was there as his literary comet at last sparkled with the publication of "Tortilla Flat" and his greatest novel "The Grapes of Wrath."His second wife was Gwen Conger a singer by whom he had two sons Thom and John Jr. They spilt in the late 40's after a short and stormy marriage. Steinbeck at last found marital bliss with Eleanor Scott the tall Texan who was once married to actor Zachary Scott.
Steinbeck lived in Europe, Mexico, California and in the latter half of his life in New York City. He loved to travel, work in the garden, fish and drink to excess. He was moody, complex and suffered from an inferiority complex regarding his writing career. He was a liberal Democrat supporting LBJ during the Vietnam war; a friend of Adlai Stevenson and a defender of the downtrodden in society.
Steinbeck wrote for Broadway in plays which failed; wrote movie scripts and enjoyed and suffered the slings and arrows of American celebrity.
Steinbeck's work is very uneven. He never matched the greatnes of "The Grapes of Wrath" but several of his works such as "The Pearl"; "The Red Pony" "In Dubious Battle; "Travels With Charley"; "East of Eden" and "The Winter of Our Discontent" are worthy reading and rereading. He was never liked by the elitist critics such as Alfred Kazin but is still beloved today throughout the world.
Steinbeck was a good man with many faults. He was egotistical, thin-skinned to criticism; mistreated his wives; was often drunk and rude. Yet he was also one of our nation's greatest novelists in the generation which produced Faulkner; Fitzgerald and Hemingway.
Jay Parini is a noted poet, novelist and literary biographer of such literary luminaries as William Faulkner and Robert Frost. His book on Steinbeckis well written for a popular readership.If you read one general biograpy on the life of Steinbeck this is the one.

The Hero Fades
Greatness is thin coat of paint.My hero John Steinbeck was a great writer, a man with a noble heart.His writing shows sympathy and understanding of the poor, the rejects of society.But, as is made clear in John Steinbeck, a Biography, a writer is more than an artist. He has a life outside art, and here is where Steinbeck fell down.He was one dysfunctional man.He created a national awareness for the plight of poor, but couldn't recognize the difficult loneliness of two of his wives and his two sons.To them he was cold, arrogant, and self-centered.They didn't enjoy him, but rather endured him!

I always wonder about root causes in such situations.Jay Parini, the author of John Steinbeck, a Biography, sees a weak dad and domineering, puritanical mother as the seeds that created the social monster, but this mom and dad supported John Steinbeck until he was 27 even though he chose an unconventional road to walk.They wanted him to finish college, live sober and restrained.He chose to drop our, drink excessively, and brag about sexual conquests.Parini says Steinbeck could never please his parents.Perhaps, but perhaps that is because his root problem wasn't parents, but booze.No parent is going to "accept" behavior that destroys their child.They will accept the child, love the child, but that rot in corner they simply endure.I have a feeling that is what happened in the Steinbeck home.

Booze warped the man but not the artist.He had talent enough to rise above the destructive power of alcohol when in front of the typewriter, but not in the kitchen, the living room, and the backyard where he fell on his face.

Just as I reject Parini's parental based explanation of John Steinbeck's dysfunction as way too simple, I am sure others will see my undiagnosed alcoholism as equally naïve and one-dimensional.Steinbeck was a man of contradictions.He was convinced of his talent, but full of self doubt.He prided himself on toughness, and yet he let critics impact on him in powerful ways.He distained the establishment, and embraced it.

Steinbeck is still my favorite writer, but now I now see him in a more complete way. I ache for the life he lived, because it could have been much more satisfying on a personal level.

A PERCEPTIVE APPRAISAL OF A LITERARY LEGEND
The work of few contemporary literary figures has endured as has the writing of John Steinbeck."The Grapes Of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men" have been reinterpreted, reassessed and even now are being reintroduced to our country's consciousness via stage, movies and television.The Joad family and George and Lenny have become icons, fictional giants of biblical and mythological stature, there to jab sharp elbows into America's social conscience.

Aware of his talent and determined to write, whether as a journalist or penning travelogues, Steinbeck, nonetheless, remained achingly in need of reassurance.After attaining the ranks of bestsellerdom, he was courted by Hollywood and Broadway.He won Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes; some claimed he was undeserving of the latter.

At times beset by rigid principles which Parini suggests were the legacy of a strong mother and distant father, Steinbeck's vision may have been influenced by his friendships with mythologist Joseph Campbell and marine biologist Ed Ricketts.

A complex figure, Steinbeck is thoughtfully assessed by Parini through numerous interviews, published and unpublished letters, diaries and manuscripts.The author gives editorial credit to Carol Steinbeck, the writer's firt wife.

Steinbeck, the man, was larger than life, and so is this perceptive appraisal.

- Gail Cooke

A Master Writer's Hundredth Birthday
On February 27, 1902 John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California. Now we stand at the centenary crossing, marking the one hundredth birthday of a Nobel Prize-winning novelist who, in the manner of few great creative artists, embodied the fundamental spirit of America's determination to overcome adversity. An ironic note from the career of Steinbeck, someone who wrote with such feeling about common folk overcoming adversity, particularly during the Great Depression,was that some of the most characteristic lines summing up the credo expressed in his writing came not from him but from Twentieth Century Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck, who started his film career as a screenwriter. At the close of the great John Ford film based on Steinbeck's greatest novel, "The Grapes of Wrath," Zanuck, wanting the movie to end on an upbeat note, wrote the final scene in which Jane Darwell in her Oscar-winning performance summed up her feelings. Darwell delivered a testimonial about the survivalist nature of the common folk, with their ability to bounce back in the face of hardship.

Steinbeck is examined by Parini as an author always in touch with his roots. He was a classic example of the adage that a person should write about what one knows best. Doing so often got Steinbeck in trouble, as when residents of Monterey reportedly walked across the street rather than speak to him after he wrote "Cannery Row." Steinbeck later set off a tempest in his hometown of Salinas with the publication of "East of Eden." Citizens who had lived in Salinas for years recognized themselves as characters in the book. Steinbeck remembered the uproar years later when, not long before his death in 1968, he learned that the Salinas library would be named after him. "I wouldn't have been surprised if they had named the local house of ill repute after me," the author quipped, "but I never expected to have the library named after me."

The young Steinbeck tended to be shy and withdrawn. A neighbor became a close friend and helped draw him out, Max Wagner, who later became a film actor and remained friends with Steinbeck during the rest of their lives. Max's brother Jack became a writer and collaborated with Steinbeck later on film projects. The two writers shared a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award nomination for their work in the 1945 film "A Medal for Benny." Steinbeck and Max Wagner each left Salinas to attend Stanford University in nearby Palo Alto. They both left after one year, restless creative spirits who hated confinement.

Parini reveals the painful experience of writing for Steinbeck, who endured numerous ailments from the early days of his career. The biographer reveals the "earthy" propensity of Steinbeck's subject matter, including such an early work as "Tortilla Flat," which revealed the lives of impoverished Mexicans living in shacks in Monterey. Later his close friendship with local Monterey marine biologist, Dr. Edward F. Ricketts, was revealed. The man known as "Doc" to localies was played by Nick Nolte in the screen adaptation of the Steinbeck novel "Cannery Row." In the case of Steinbeck's master work, "The Grapes of Wrath," the author carefully researched California migrant camps, a major element of the story as Oklahomans fleeing the great dust bowl resided in them on the way to establishing their own roots moving westward. Steinbeck had an excellent guide, Tom Collins, who managed the Kern County Migrant Camp and became a friend of the author's. Steinbeck's great novel was dedicated partially to Collins as he wrote: "To Tom -- who lived it." It was a simple dedication which meant so much, so typically earthy, and so typically Steinbeck.

One important friendship Steinbeck formed was with fellow humanitarian and author, Carl Sandburg, poet and Lincoln biographer. Actor Burgess Meredith also became a close friend after starring in the brilliant 1939 film adaptation of Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men."

Long before Cesar Chavez was available to courageously carry the banner of the exploited Mexican braceros, Steinbeck fought tirelessly for their cause along with crusading journalist Carey McWilliams. Steinbeck was a stalwart advocate of the New Deal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and became a friend and devoted admirer of two time Democratic presidential nominee Adlai E. Stevenson, for whom Steinbeck wrote speeches during his losing 1956 campaign to President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Parini provides a solid account of Steinbeck as a man, including defeats as well as triumphs. In the former category there were Steinbeck's problematical marriages and difficulties with fatherhood. The biographer notes the success of Steinbeck's last marriage to Elaine Scott Steinbeck, the former wife of actor Zachary Scott. The two became initially fond of each other after the actress Ann Sothern, who had her own romantic designs on the famous author, brought her friend Elaine along for a Northern California visit. The women stayed at a Carmel hotel and Steinbeck, then living in Monterey, showed them the sights. It soon became obvious that the author's designs were on Elaine rather than the actress. "I don't think Ann ever forgave me," Elaine Scott Steinbeck later revealed.

Parini does a superb job of capturing a man of many parts, an author in touch with America's roots.Steinbeck's works are an evocation of the adventurousness and tenacity of the American spirit. ... Read more

Product Description
Today, nearly forty years after his death, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck remains one of America’s greatest writers and cultural figures. We have begun publishing his many works for the first time as blackspine Penguin Classics featuring eye-catching, newly commissioned art. This season we continue with the seven spectacular and influential books East of Eden, Cannery Row, In Dubious Battle, The Long Valley, The Moon Is Down, The Pastures of Heaven, and Tortilla Flat. PenguinClassics is proud to present these seminal works to a new generation of readers—and to the many who revisit them again and again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Journeyman Fiction
Stop two in my quest to read everything of Steinbeck's in chronological order is _The Pastures of Heavens_. If his first novel, the 1929 _Cup of Gold_, was an apprenticeship in fiction -- and a largely unsuccessful one at that -- then The Pastures is journeyman fiction. It's starting to show promise, it definitely has its moments, but it's not quite ready for prime time.

Early in their careers, many writers go through a stage of imitating those that they perceive to be literary giants. The results are usually unsatisfying. This case is no exception.

What Steinbeck is doing is trying to write a short story cycle in the vein of Sherwood Anderson's _Winesburg, Ohio_. While hardly anyone reads it anymore, it made a vast impression in its day, coming in at twenty-fourth on the MLA list of all-time best novels. Steinbeck seems to have picked up on a number of the external features of Winesburg without quite appreciating what makes Winesburg work or what in Winesburg would be tiresome if imitated.

The reason that Winesburg-like short story cycles never really caught on is that they tend to combine the worst features of short stories and novels. They require the commitment of novels without giving you the attachment and enjoyment of investing in the characters. Characters tend to weave in and out of stories in such a way that you find yourself thinking, "Wait, I've seen that name before. Was that the guy on the school board? Or was he the brother of that other character?" It requires repeated reading to figure these things out and usually the pay off of doing that is slim.

A number of the threads do come together deliciously in Winesburg. That doesn't happen in The Pastures. True you do get a foretaste of the Steinbeck to come in the final chapter, which is a great study in irony (to say nothing of being prophetic about the suburban future of California). But keeping track of, say, the different Munroes isn't particularly rewarding. It's not like the stories give great insight into each other.

The other way in which imitating Winesburg doesn't work is that Anderson was caught up in the concept of `the grotesque', which leads to characters that are considerably out of kilter. It's like being Dickensque in a secretly tragic, sometimes almost mentally ill way. This can very quickly seem artificial and inauthentic, and a number of characters in The Pastures don't seem quite human and the descriptions of their lives gives only a glimmer of the affection for people that makes Steinbeck's later works so enjoyable. Imagine if someone who thought that they were too cool or hip to smile wrote _Cannery Row_. (But obviously this is a minority position if you look at the other reviews.)

Some of the individual chapters do work of course. But this almost works against the book because Steinbeck recycled a lot and did things better the second time around. Reactions to hangings was made unforgettable in `Vigilante', one chapter is practically a dry run of _Of Mice and Men_, the scene of the new woman in town trying to find her way about is much more memorable in _Sweet Thursday_, etc.

So I don't regret reading this -- and I'm certainly glad that an editor encouraged Steinbeck by putting it out -- but I wouldn't put it on a list of the five most important Steinbecks I would try to get other people to read. And I love the other reviewer's story of his parents getting it for him because the title got it passed their religious filter.

Of course the logical conclusion of this review is that if you do like The Pastures, you should check out Winesburg, Ohio. I don't think anyone would ever say that Anderson is the better writer, but he had a better vision of what he was trying to accomplish. I think in comparison to Steinbeck's characters a number of Anderson's come across as cold and distant.

A Gem of a Book
This book is Steinbeck at his finest. The short stories are tied together, but each stands gloriously on its own. I have found that I prefer his "lesser" works, and this one is my favorite. His use of language and his character development are perfection. Each story is a detailed and solid vignette of life behind the walls we erect. Read this book!

Beautiful prose and local color, but little lasting impression
Pastures of Heaven is not so much a novel as a collection of thematically linked stories all taking place in the same California valley in the early 20th century.Nevertheless, this is a satisfying work from one of the giants of our age.In the very first chapter we get hints that there's something haunted about this idyllic little valley, and while one wouldn't call these horror stories (they're all very true-to-life) each of them seems to conclude with the protagonists feeling greatly diminished by what has occurred.Of course everyone faces trouble at some point in their lives, and a story with a happy ending is just one that leaves off before the really bad stuff happens.Clearly Steinbeck wants to show that even in an earthly paradise, people still have serious problems.

Steinbeck's prose is flawless, and he refuses to editorialize on the behavior of his characters, allowing the reader to judge which are wise and which are foolish.There's only a hint of the yearning for social justice that motivated so many of his more famous works.The collection offers a fair amount of variety despite the unities of time and place and mood (a pall of fatalism hangs over every vignette) but ultimately the individual stories weren't all that memorable.A few weeks after reading this book, the only entries this reviewer can recall are the boy who was enjoying the simple life until others decided it wasn't good for him; and the sisters who hoped to make their living selling home cooking and wound up selling something else.The rest was certainly well-written, but didn't leave a very lasting impression.The regional color is all there, but we can be glad that Steinbeck eventually found more cogent means to express his passion for his beloved central California.Three and a half stars.

stories are interesting and show glimpses of genius
The Pastures of Heaven is a collected of interrelated stories about a California valley nicknamed Pastures of Heaven. The stories are interesting and showglimpses of Steinbecks later genius but there lacks the depth of character his better works and his descriptive powers also fall short of the great works to come. It is a good early work and many novelist never reached the level of this book but I can only give it three stars especially in the context of his overall work and his talent

More than short stories, less than a novel
I had never heard of Steinbeck's Pastures of Heaven before stumbling across it by accident. Since this book has never had the fame of Steinbeck's later novels - East of Eden, Grapes of Wrath, etc. - it's unfamiliar to many readers. It's shouldn't be! These laconic inter-connected stories tell of the people who come to make their homes in the Salinas Valley. Some folks send out roots and live there for generations. Others move though the small town like tumbleweeds. As a whole they weave a tapestry that is at once specific to the time and place, yet universal to the American experience.

In many ways Pastures of Heaven reminds me to Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio. But where much of Anderson's book dealt with dreams lost, set aside or abandoned, Steinbeck puts his faith in the American spirit.

Also, for those who have read and cherished Steinbeck's later novels, let them find the seeds of later characters and themes in Pastures. Even in his early career Steinbeck was developing the prototypes of the Trasks and the Joads and others. ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of Steinbeck's work containing: "Of Mice and Men"; The Red Pony"; "The Long Valley", "The Pastures of Heaven", "Tortilla Flat", "Indubious Battle", "The Grapes of Wrath", "Sea of Cortez", "Cannery Row", "The Winter of Our Discontent", and other selections. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A quality survey of a master's work
A great introduction to the quality of John Steinbeck's masterful writing.This is simply meant to be a broad survey of his work, not intended to be complete, yet is thorough nonetheless. Herein you will find representative short stories from The Long Valley and Pastures of Heaven, the complete versions of The Red Pony and Of Mice and Men, and excerpts from all his major novels.Novel excerpts are often tricky to present out of context, and often fall flat, but these selections, especially from The Grapes of Wrath, Tortilla Flat, and East of Eden are powerful pieces of literature, booming with the resonance of Steinbeck's voice. A book such as this is ideal for the traveler, casual reader, or initiate to John Steinbeck, and will most likely be the stepping stone for some to his complete works.A special bonus to this book is Steinbeck's Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, discussing the responsibilities of a writer--one more testimony to his depth and brilliance.

A John Steinbeck reader must see
If you enjoy reading Steinbeck stories this is a must... Great short stories and portions of all the greats... plus his biography... it was great ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Book came better than expected!
The book was listed as being in "good" condition.Imagine my surprise and joy when I opened the package and revealed what looked like a brand new book that had never been read!Nice print, easy to read.Also, the book was not as bulky as I was afraid it might be and, while not exactly small, is reasonably easy to take with me.Of course, Steinbeck is always an excellent read.I've read all the titles before and am enjoying reading them again.

This book is amazing.
At 18, this is possibly my most favorite book to lug around.Granted it's hard to read laying on your back, but then again, I have smmall hands.Steinbeck is a fantastic author and this is a fantastic book.It's a good thing there are five books in the collection; after each one, you're dying for more.

A Good Steinbeck Collection
If you enjoy Steinbeck, then this is a nice book to have. It has copies of The Grapes of Wrath, the Moon Is Down, Cannery Row, East of Eden, and Of Mice and Men.The quality of each book is up to the opinions and personality of the stories, but the collection is a nice.A lovely hard cover and golden sided pages. It's a huge book, but hey, it's got The Grapes of Wrath, the Moon Is Down, Cannery Row, East of Eden, and Of Mice and Men in one huge collection. What do you expect!? All in all, a very nicely done book. ... Read more