Spirit of America Bookstore

John Steinbeck

magazine cover portrait of John Steinbeck, circa 1940                Primary Works

Other Works

Works About John Steinbeck

Plays, Movies & Videos

Audio Tapes & CDs

Links


"Most of the feeling 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)

John Ernst Steinbeck III was born 27 February 1902 in Salinas, California. The novel "The Grapes of Wrath", considered his masterpiece, earned a Pulitzer Prize 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 at Internet Movie Database
Nobel Prize for Literature 1962
Portions of Nobel Acceptance Speech
John Steinbeck Papers Archive at Stanford University
listed #96 on Atlantic Monthly's "100 Most Influential Americans" (12/2006)

NEH Steinbeck Centennial Celebration

Steinbeck books catalog at Amazon.com
Steinbeck audio catalog at Amazon

Weedpatch Camp, California
L.A. Weekly article May 2002
John Steinbeck's Pacific Grove [a self-guided driving tour]
EdS's Steinbeck California Novels fansite
article in the March 2002 Socialist Worker

John Steinbeck Quotations Page
at Working Minds Philosophy website



Collections

John Steinbeck Centennial boxed set   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 $54.60
Library of America John Steinbeck volume 1   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
Library of America John Steinbeck volume 2   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
Library of America John Steinbeck volume 3   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
Library of America John Steinbeck volume 4   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


Primary Works

"The Grapes of Wrath" [Viking April 1939]

Calif. Council for the Humanities 'Reading Grapes of Wrath' program

Grapes of Wrath novel    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 Okla- homa), and caused society to make changes in 'The System'. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize, and is listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Novels (10/2005).
Penguin 8.4x5½ pb [1/2002] for $12.00
Penguin UNABR audio [10/98] 12 tapes read by Dylan Baker for $34.96

Grapes of Wrath movie directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda  1940 Fox Movie
Directed by John Ford [1894-1973]; 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
John Ford's movie (from Nunnally Johnson's script) remains an unforgettable experience even 60 years later.
Fox b&w VHS [10/99] for $13.99
full credits from IMDb
Grapes of Wrath Working Days book edited by Robert Demott  
"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
Obscene in the Extreme book by Rick Wartzman   "Obscene In The Extreme: The Burning & Banning of
John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath" [2008]
by Rick Wartzman

PublicAffairs hardcover [9/2008] for $17.79

"Cannery Row" [Viking Jan 1945]
Cannery Row   Penguin 8½x5½ pb [1/2002] for $9.60

Cannery Row in Monterey, California

Cannery Row video   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
sequel to "Cannery Row"
"Sweet Thursday" [Viking June 1954]
Sweet Thursday  
Penguin 7¾x5 pb [10/96] for $10.40

"Of Mice & Men" [Covici-Friede Feb 1937]
Mice & Men book   Penguin 8.4x5½ pb [1/2002] for $8.80
Penguin ABRIDGED audio [10/92] 2 tapes read by Gary Sinise for $12.76
Of Mice & Men 1939   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 VHS [3/2001] for $29.98
Image Ent b&w DVD [3/2001] for $17.99
full credits from IMDb

Of Mice & Men 1992   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 color VHS [10/93] out of stock/used
MGM/UA widescreen color DVD [11/2001] for $17.98
full credits from IMDb

"East of Eden" [Viking Sept 1952]
East of Eden book   Penguin/Oprah pb [6/2003] for $11.20
Viking/Oprah 8¾x6 hardcover [6/2003] for $21.00
Sears & Viking hardcover [1952] out of print/used
East of Eden movie directed by Elia Kazan  

color movie [Warner 1955]
filmed in Cinemascope; produced & directed by Elia Kazan; script by Paul Osborn; starring Julie Harris, James Dean, Raymond Massey, Burl Ives & Richard Davalos; won Oscar for Best Supporting Actress (Jo Van Fleet), Oscar noms for Best Director, Best Script/Adaptation & Best Actor (Dean)
Warner Special Edition widescreen color DVD [5/2005] 2 disks for $18.89
Warner color VHS [2/92] out of stock/used
full credits from IMDb

Journal / East of Eden  
"Journal of A Novel: The East of Eden Letters" [1972]
Penguin 7¾x5 pb [12/90] for $11.20
Penguin 7¾x5 pb [7/2001] out of print/used
East of Eden 1981 tv miniseries  tv miniseries [Viacom/ABC Feb 1981]
Directed by Harvey Hart; script by Richard Shapiro; starring Karen Allen, Anne Baxter, Hart Bochner, Sam Bottoms, Timothy Bottoms, Bruce Boxleitner, Jane Seymour, Warren Oates, Soon-Tek Oh & Lloyd Bridges
Acorn Media color DVD [3/2009] 3 disks for $49.99
Anchor Bay color VHS [9/90] 3 tapes / out of stock/used
full credits from IMDb
"East of Eden: Art In Search of Life" documentary short
[Warner Bros./Sparkhill May 2005]
Available on 2-disk DVD above; full credits at IMDb

"East of Eden" feature film [Universal/Imagine; to be released in 2010?]
Directed by Tom Hooper; script by Christopher Hampton, based on the John Steinbeck novel
latest info at IMDb

"In Dubious Battle" [Viking Press 1936]
Dubious Battle novel by John Steinbeck   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 [10/92] for $11.20
Bantam pb [6/70] out of print/used
Viking Press hardcover [1/36] out of print/used
BooksOnTape audio [11/94] 7 tapes read by Michael Keenan for $57.99

"The Sea of Cortez"
Sea of Cortez 1941   "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
Log From The Sea of Cortez 1951   "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   "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   "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 journalSpanish 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, CA

"Travels With Charley In Search of America"
[non-fiction 1962]




official first day cover of U.S. commemorative postage stamp honoring John Steinbeck

Other Works

Steinbeck's Cup of Gold   "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
BooksOnTape audio [11/91] 7 tapes read by Michael Keenan for $42.00

"The Pastures of Heaven" [stories 1932]

"To A God Unknown" [1933]

"The Red Pony" [1933]

"Tortilla Flat" [1935]

Harvest Gypsies   "The Harvest Gypsies: On the Road To The Grapes of Wrath"
[1936] Intro by Charles Wollenberg, photos by Dorothea Lange

Seven newspaper articles by John Steinbeck from 1936 – after "In Dubious Battle" and prior to "Grapes of Wrath"
Heyday Books 8x6 pb [7/2002] for $9.95
Heyday Books 8x6 hardcover [10/96] out of print/used

"The Long Valley" [stories 1938]

"The Moon Is Down" [1942]

"The Pearl" [1947]

"The Wayward Bus" [1947]

"A Russian Journal" [non-fiction 1948]

"Burning Bright" [1950]

"The Short Reign of Pippin IV" [1957]

"Once There Was A War" [1958]

"The Winter of Our Discontent" [1961]

"America and Americans" [non-fiction 1966]

Acts of King Arthur & His Noble Knights   "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

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

King Arthur Page at Spirit of America



Works About John Steinbeck

Life in Letters   "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
bio by JJB   "John Steinbeck, Writer: A Biography" [1990]
by Jackson J. Benson

Penguin 8½x5½ pb [12/90] for $17.50
A&E Biography   "John Steinbeck: An American Writer" [A&E Biography tv movie 2000]
Directed by Morgan Neville

A&E Home Video VHS [8/2000] for $14.95
full credits from IMDb
A&E Biography page

C-SPAN American Writers John Steinbeck page



Works by son
Thomas Steinbeck

official website

Down To A Soundless Sea   "Down To A Soundless Sea: Stories" [2002]
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



Plays, Motion Pictures & Videos


"Forgotten Village" documentary feature [indep Nov 1941]
Co-directed by Herbert Kline & Alexander Hammid; written by John Steinbeck; narrated by Burgess Meredith
credits at IMDbSteinbeck / 'Forgotten Village' Archive at Stanford University


"Lifeboat" feature film [Fox Jan 1944]
Hitchcock's "Lifeboat" 1944 movie poster   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 Englishwoman, 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 IMDbmovie entry at Wikipedia


"Viva Zapata!" feature film [Fox Feb 1952]
Viva Zapata! movie   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
Zapata script  
Steinbeck's "Zapata" script in book form,
edited by Robert E. Morsberger

Penguin 7¾x5 pb [5/93] for $12.80


"Pipe Dream"  [Broadway musical 1955]
Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, adapted from Steinbeck's "Sweet Thursday"
original cast album Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Pipe Dream"   starring Helen Traubel, William Johnson & Judy Tyler
RCA Victor original cast recording audio CD [3/93] for $10.99
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



Audio Tapes & CDs

Steinbeck audio catalog at Amazon

CD-ROM of "The Pearl" & "The Red Pony"
Penguin Electronics CD-ROM for Windows [11/96] for $69.50

The Pearl audio   "The Pearl"
read by Hector Elizondo

Penguin UNABR audio [4/94] 2 tapes for $11.20
TWCISoA audio   "Travels With Charley: In Search of America"
read by Gary Sinise

Penguin UNABR audio [11/94] 6 tapes for $21.00
Tortilla Flat audio   "Tortilla Flat"
read by John McDonough

Penguin UNABR audio [2/99] 6 tapes for $20.97
To A God Unknown audio   "To A God Unknown"
BooksOnTape UNABR audio [1/92] 8 tapes for $48.00


Online sales in association with  John Steinbeck books catalog at Amazon

John Steinbeck Quotations Page at Working Minds Philosophy website

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