"A biography of one of America's most popular and misunderstood authors, John Steinbeck. This first full-length biography of the Nobel Laureate to appear in a quarter century explores John Steinbeck's long apprenticeship as a writer struggling through the depths of the Great Depression, and his rise to greatness with masterpieces such as The Red Pony, Of Mice and Men, and The Grapes of Wrath. His most poignant and evocative writing emerged in his...

Each working day from January 29 to November 1, 1951, John Steinbeck warmed up to the work of writing East of Eden with a "letter" to the late Pascal Covici, his friend and editor of the Viking Press. It was his way, he said, of "getting my mental arm in shape to pitch a good game." Steinbeck's letters were written on the left-hand pages of a notebook in which the facing pages would be filled with the text of the novel. They touched on many subjects--story...

A hefty selection from the Nobel Prize-winner's voluminous correspondence offers an intimate view of Steinbeck learning and practicing his craft.

Thirty-five years ago, when "searching for America" was not yet the cliche it has since become, Steinbeck hit the highways with his French poodle, Charley. In a custom-built camper he named Rosinante after Don Quixote's steed, the two traveled the country--10,000 miles and 34 states. Their varied experiences comprise several slices of small-town back-roads Americana. Steinbeck laments the rise of plastic-covered everything, the vacuousness of "sad...

Here are seven articles written by John Steinbeck in 1936 as he toured squatters camps and Hoovervilles in California's migrant labor region, led by his friend Tom Collins, manager of a federal migrant labor camp. Steinbeck's personal and literary response led him to dedicate the novel "The Grapes of Wrath" (1939) in part to Tom.

Based on John Steinbeck's novel and directed by award-winning director Elia Kazan. The emotionally charged film tells the story of lonely youth Cal, who vies for the affection of his hardened father and favored brother, Aron.

Tells the story about the strange relationship of two migrant workers who are able to realize their dreams of an easy life until one of them succumbs to his weakness for soft, helpless creatures and strangles the farmer's wife.