Synopses & Reviews
Reminiscences from Steinbeck's sons, wives, and closest friends, including Arthur Miller, Burgess Meredith, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Tom Wolfe, offer valuable insights his life, demonstrate the scope and depth of his influence, and give scholars useful biographical information. The biggest names in Steinbeck studies share both personal and critical views on Steinbeck's concept of fiction, his spirituality, his vast international appeal, his ambiguous portrayal of women, and the future of Steinbeck criticism. A feast for scholars and enthusiasts alike, this book offers the most varied picture of the Nobel Prize-winning novelist to date. John Steinbeck's writings are among the most widely read works of American fiction. Though his novels have always been popular with general readers, critics expressed surprise when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, and some scholars have been quick to dismiss his works as more appropriate for high school students than for undergraduates. In recent years, however, there has been a growing recognition of Steinbeck as a serious writer, and a correspondingly large body of scholarship has been published about him. One hundred years after his birth, this book offers a valuable perspective on Steinbeck's achievements and the future of his work.
Review
From Thom Steinbeck's wonderful reflections on his complex, famous father through an extraordinary range of testimonials and delightful stories about John Steinbeck to contemporary critical appraisals, this is a remarkable collection. Here is Steinbeck the father, friend, neighbor, and artist. It is a fitting tribute to a writer destined not merely to remain in the world's imagination but to grow in stature as we move more deeply into this new century and we bend more closely over the fine print of his life's work.Louis Owens
Review
John Steinbeck: A Centennial Tribute is an impressive selection of personal reminiscences drawn from the celebrated author's sons, wives, and closest friends....Taken collectively, John Steinbeck: A Centennial Tribute is a seminal and very highly recommended collection of revealing and insightful observations embracing the totality of Steinbeck's literary legacy.Internet Bookwatch
Review
The approval of one's peers tells us much--more even than the revilings of one's enemies. This is a good book.Edward Albee
Review
These memories of John Steinbeck offered by colleagues and friends evoke a remembrance of time past to the reader as well. A valuable addition to any library of Steinbeck fans.Studs Terkel Author, Pulitzer Prize recipient
Review
Stephen George has assembled a splendid collection on Steinbeck, one that should go a long way toward restoring his place in American literature as a writer of the highest caliber. . . . Anyone interested in Steinbeck and his world must own this important book.Jay Parini author, John Steinbeck: A Biography
Synopsis
The biggest names in Steinbeck studies share both personal and critical views on Steinbeck's concept of fiction, his spirituality, his vast international appeal, his ambiguous portrayal of women, and the future of Steinbeck criticism.
Synopsis
The biggest names in Steinbeck studies share both personal and critical views on Steinbeck's concept of fiction, his spirituality, his vast international appeal, his ambiguous portrayal of women, and the future of Steinbeck criticism. A feast for scholars and enthusiasts alike, this book offers the most varied picture of the Nobel Prize-winning novelist to date.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. [187]-191) and index.
About the Author
STEPHEN K. GEORGE is Professor of English at Brigham Young University, Idaho. He has published some 30 articles and book reviews in such places as Steinbeck Studies and Steinbeck Yearbook.
Table of Contents
Introduction by Stephen George
Family, Friends, and Authors
My Father, John Steinbeck by Thom Steinbeck
John Steinbeck Was My Father by John Steinbeck IV
"John Believed in Man ": An Interview with Mrs. John Steinbeck by Elaine Steinbeck
"The Marriage of His Life": Meeting John Steinbeck by Gwyn Steinbeck
My Cousin, John Steinbeck by Stanford Steinbeck
John Steinbeck by Burgess Meredith
John Steinbeck: A Reminiscence by Webster Street
"I Think I Just Saw God": Thoughts on John Steinbeck by Virginia Scardigli
John Steinbeck: Footnote for a Memoir by John Kenneth Galbraith
Steinbeck by Arthur Miller
Full Body Wine from the Grapes of Wrath by Yevgeny Yevtushenko
John Steinbeck and the American Novel by Tom Wolfe
John Steinbeck: A Lion in Winter by Budd Schulberg
Critics, Scholars, and Bibliographers
Why Read John Steinbeck? by Susan Shillinglaw
Sharing the Immeasurable View with John Steinbeck by Brian Railsback
Steinbeck's Spirituality: A Sense of the Ending by Barbara Heavilin
John Steinbeck: An Ethics of Fiction by John Timmerman
Steinbeck and the Woman Question: A Never-Ending Puzzle by Mimi Gladstein
Steinbeck's Concept of the Function of Fiction by Warren French
"Of Ink and Heart's Blood": Episodes in Reading Steinbeck's East of Eden by Robert DeMott
My Steinbeck Odyssey by Robert Morsberger
Steinbeck, Ricketts, and Memories of Times Past by Richard Astro
Traveling with John: My Journey as a Steinbeck Scholar by Michael Meyer
Of Mice and Men and (Perhaps) Other Things by Roy Simmonds
John Steinbeck: A Writer Who Spans the Oceans by Kiyoshi Nakayama
Steinbeck in Scandinavia by Donald Coers
John Steinbeck and his Immortal Literary Legacy by Tetsumaro Hayashi
John Steinbeck--Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow by John Ditsky
Selected Bibliography
Index