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mschrock8's review against another edition
3.0
I read these essays one a day. The photos added a lot to the book.
clarkness's review against another edition
4.0
Worthwhile for "About Ed Ricketts" alone. That one piece is simply the most touching elegy I have ever read.
spinnerroweok's review against another edition
3.0
I started off really enjoying this, but then I discovered that after listening to John Steinbeck's opinions for several hours, they start to sound like someone's tl;dr posts on Facebook. This is a book that is better sipped than gulped.
bvargo's review against another edition
4.0
This is a really interesting auto/biographical look at Steinbeck through his nonfiction. E.g., I had no idea he supported the Vietnam War in 1964. It is really worth reading if you're a Steinbeck fan.
nellybly's review
5.0
I absolutely loved this, John Steinbeck has a very special place in my heart. Even though I always enjoyed reading, it wasn't until I read "Of Mice and Men" when I was 15 that I realized that a book can be something other than just a story. It was the literary version of getting punched in the stomach. I still remember how I felt each time I read a Steinbeck novel.
This was my first time reading any of his non-fiction, however. It covers everything from his life in California, his travels to Paris, Americans, the Vietnam war, and the essays that inspired "the Grapes of Wrath." Funny, entertaining, upsetting, and eye-opening. I truly enjoyed this.
This was my first time reading any of his non-fiction, however. It covers everything from his life in California, his travels to Paris, Americans, the Vietnam war, and the essays that inspired "the Grapes of Wrath." Funny, entertaining, upsetting, and eye-opening. I truly enjoyed this.
silverthane's review against another edition
4.0
In America and Americans we see a different side to John Steinbeck. We don't see the earthy novelist writing about Salinas or some other nameless province in California. We see John Steinbeck the journalist writing about an America he is intimately acquainted with. An America he at once loves and seethes with frustration at. John was equally capable of praise and condemnation.
The book is a collection of articles written over decades all with a common theme: America. The articles discuss both the country and the people giving an excellent all round view of the country, both its past and where it's going but it isn't a history book in the strictest sense but more the sort of book that gives you an overall impression of a place. Rather than focus on what Americans DO it tells us what they ARE. It is a book that contains history, politics, philosophy and pure journalism in the form of letters and opinion pieces ranging from the shameful treatment of the migrant workers living in California (nicknamed Okies) to the Vietnam War. At times the articles were a little 'preachy' particularly towards the end of Steinbeck's life and I didn't always agree with the conclusions he came to but that isn't necessary to simply enjoy the fact that he was a tremendously talented, intelligent man with a gift for writing.
This was a thoroughly interesting, informative and enjoyable read particularly if you are a fan of John Steinbeck, history or America in general.
The book is a collection of articles written over decades all with a common theme: America. The articles discuss both the country and the people giving an excellent all round view of the country, both its past and where it's going but it isn't a history book in the strictest sense but more the sort of book that gives you an overall impression of a place. Rather than focus on what Americans DO it tells us what they ARE. It is a book that contains history, politics, philosophy and pure journalism in the form of letters and opinion pieces ranging from the shameful treatment of the migrant workers living in California (nicknamed Okies) to the Vietnam War. At times the articles were a little 'preachy' particularly towards the end of Steinbeck's life and I didn't always agree with the conclusions he came to but that isn't necessary to simply enjoy the fact that he was a tremendously talented, intelligent man with a gift for writing.
This was a thoroughly interesting, informative and enjoyable read particularly if you are a fan of John Steinbeck, history or America in general.
saramira's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books I have ever read.
John Steinbeck is an author full of humanism and this characteristic is present throughout this compilations of texts.
He gives a true testimony about America and the world from the 30s to the 60s. That is still essential even these days.
John Steinbeck is an author full of humanism and this characteristic is present throughout this compilations of texts.
He gives a true testimony about America and the world from the 30s to the 60s. That is still essential even these days.