John Steinbeck

John Ernst Steinbeck, the popular and widely read author of "The Grapes of Wrath," along with many other great works, was born in Salinas, California on February 27, 1902. His father, John Steinbeck Sr., was the County Treasurer, and his mother, Olive Steinbeck, was a former teacher.

After graduating from the local high school in Salinas, Steinbeck attended Stanford University to major in English, but before completing his college education, he dropped out and moved to New York. He soon returned to California, though, where he held odd jobs such as printing, fruit picking, and he even worked as a night watchman, while he pursued his writing career.

His first novel, "Cup of Gold," published in 1929, was not well received by critics. After a few more unsuccessful attempts, "Tortilla Flat," a novel published in 1935, would prove to bring him his first taste of critical success. He would go on to write many wonderful and memorable novels over the years including "The Grapes of Wrath," "Of Mice and Men," "Cannery Row," and "East of Eden," and others, most of which were critically acclaimed.

Steinbeck also worked as a war correspondent during World War II for the New York Herald Tribune, and again during the Vietnam Conflict. He was requested by President Lyndon Baines Johnson to go to the war zone so that he could provide accurate reports. Both of his sons served in Vietnam, so he was happy to go. He wrote articles about the conflict for "Newsday," and was criticized by the "New York Post" for betraying his liberal past because he agreed with the Vietnam policies of President Johnson.

One of Steinbeck's last works was a travel journal from a 1960 road trip that he took to rediscover America. Called, "Travels with Charley," the book chronicles his coast-to-coast trip with his beloved poodle named Charley. His last major novel, "The Winter of Our Discontent," was published in 1961. The critics did not like the book and began to view Steinbeck as a has-been.

Over his career, Steinbeck, whose love of literature and reading was fostered by his mother, wrote 25 books, including novels, non-fiction, and short story collections. He won the California Commonwealth Club's Gold Medal for best novel by an author from California for "Tortilla Flat," and he won the Pulitzer Prize for "The Grapes of Wrath. He also won the Nobel Prize in 1962 and the Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Steinbeck was a private person, and he didn't enjoy the limelight and the publicity that came with being a successful author. In addition, he never really felt that he deserved the honors that his work brought. He was married three times. In 1930, he married Carol Henning, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1942. His second wife, singer Gwynn Conger gave him two sons, Thomas Myles Steinbeck and John Steinbeck IV, but this marriage also ended in divorce. He married Elaine Scott Steinbeck, former wife of actor Randolph Scott, in 1950, and they remained married until his death in 1968.