John Steinbeck, Writer

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A definitive portrait of the celebrated and controversial Nobel laureate author chronicles the events of Steinbeck's life, his formative development as a writer, and his archetypical literary images of modern American culture

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Rating(4 / 5.0, 28 votes)
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28 reviews All reviews
April 17,2025
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I've been a Steinbeck fan for many years, but learned something new on pretty much every one of these 1000+ pages.

This is a big book, heavy and dense, but well worth reading for anybody who enjoys Steinbeck or who likes biographies of authors. Writers will learn from Steinbeck's struggles to write and find acceptance.

I admit I was intimidated by the size and detail of this book, and remained so up until the last pages. I'm glad I read it, though, and would readily and heartily recommend it.
April 17,2025
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Excellent biography of one of if not the best writer of all time. So much more to him than just a writer. Well worth reading.
April 17,2025
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THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF JOHN STEINBECK,WRITER:A BIOGRAPHY by Jackson J. Benson (1990)
April 17,2025
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Not a literary critique - but a most thorough telling of the events that shaped Steinbeck throughout his life. Benson notes Steinbeck was blessed with good friends but lacked critical respect. I was a little taken aback by Steinbeck's embrace of a pseudo-Hollywood kind of lifestyle (he hated Hollywood itself). Anyway, I need to go back and reread some of his books. This is a well written, if overly long, biography.
April 17,2025
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Informative, but long. I got about half-way through and decided my reading time would be better spent with another book.
April 17,2025
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It's great if you want to read the details of Steinbeck's biography. There are even letters which he wrote.
April 17,2025
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I've read Steinbeck's Journal of a Novel, Working Days, and Dispatches from the War, so some points were repetitive, but there were plenty of fillers in between "eras" of his works so that was nice to read! I especially enjoyed the entries post-Vietnam War and wept quietly to myself because Steinbeck was such a humorous, wonderfully joyous, spirited man even though he did become quite cynical in his later years. I'll always respect him both as a writer and a person.
April 17,2025
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I purchased this book many years ago and started reading it after a trip to the John Steinbeck Museum in Salinas, CA. I've been plucking away at it little by little since then, unable to finish reading it until today. I can happily say that it was worth the effort. Mr. Benson has given us a definitive look at John Steinbeck. In a sense, this is really three books in one, two biographies and one literary criticism, and great in each way. Mr. Benson has written a great biography of the man as we get a nearly side-by-side walk through the life of Mr. Steinbeck. He has also written a great biography of of the writer as we struggle with Steinbeck to write something original throughout the many phases of his life. And he has written a general appraisal of all of Steinbeck's works from Cup of Gold to Travels with Charley: In Search of America and America and Americans. Mr. Benson is tough, but fair-minded critic of Steinbeck's works without pretense or snobbery, something I think Mr. Steinbeck would've appreciated. The only downside of this work is its heft. At 1,000+ pages of narrative, this may be a daunting read for anyone. It nearly was for me. Still, if you are a fan of John Steinbeck and his works, I would highly recommend this book to you as a companion to all of Steinbeck's written works.
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