John Steinbeck was on February 27, 1902 in Salinas California. He went to Salinas High School and then went to Stanford University but did not graduate. He went to New York to write but after failing to be published he returned to California and worked as a tour guide. Steinbeck’s first book was Cup of Gold published in 1929.

John Steinbeck is known for his evocative stories about rural workers and especially for his epic saga set during the Great Depression, The Grapes of Wrath (1939). A Nobel Prize winner for literature (1962), Steinbeck's works include Of Mice and Men (1937), Cannery Row (1945) and East of Eden (1954). Steinbeck collaborated with George S. Kaufman in adapting Of Mice and Men for the Broadway stage.

Books

Steinbeck: A Life in Letters

John Steinbeck, Writer: A Biography