John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California. His mother was a former school teacher and his father served as County Treasurer. He was the only boy in family. There were three Steinbeck girls.

Young John worked on nearby ranches during the summers. He graduated from Salinas High School in 1919; then went to Stanford University. His attendance was sporadic-he worked his way through college. John left Stanford in 1925 to pursue a writing career in New York. Although his early works were not especially celebrated in the literary world, John Steinbeck became one of the best known American novelists of the 20th century; winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. He won numerous other awards and prizes during his lifetime.

John Steinbeck lived most of his life in seclusion-he shunned public life. He was married three times. His second wife, Gwendolyn Conger Steinbeck, was the mother of his two sons. His son, John IV died in 1991.

Undoubtedly, John Steinbeck’s most celebrated work is “The Grapes of Wrath”. It’s the story of the Joad family. They were poor sharecroppers who left Oklahoma and everything they knew during the great depression and headed for California-the “promised land”. This tale of heartbreak, determination and love is riveting, to say the least. It makes you think seriously about core values and bias in regard to social classes. The book was later turned into a great classic film and Tom Joad, played by Henry Fonda, was immortalized. This is the novel that earned John Steinbeck the Pulitzer Prize in 1940.

There are six John Steinbeck works that are personal favorites, and probably the most well-known of his novels. They are:

• Of Mice and Men The Pearl
• Cannery Row East of Eden
• The Red Pony Tortilla Flats

All of these are incredible pieces of art. John Steinbeck wrote most often about the “wretched refuse” of society; those considered to be misfits, outcasts, and the down-trodden and trampled upon. He was a master when it came to weaving tapestries of the plight of humanity with words. Not one of these works would be disappointing to the reader. East of Eden and Of Mice and Men can both also be found on film.

John Steinbeck wrote many more novels, short stories, journals and letters. He died in New York on December 20, 1968. John Steinbeck was just 66 years old.