A Political Companion to John Steinbeck

"Do you think you know John Steinbeck? You might have to think again. Stow and Zirakzadeh have put together a superb volume of essays on Steinbeck's astounding body of work: novels, plays, journalism, screenplays, wartime journalism, travel writing, and more. The essays work brilliantly together, something many edited volumes cannot claim. Steinbeck engaged America in all its tragic complexity and came away a thoroughly ambivalent American. Readers of this indispensable volume are likely to find themselves in a similarly disconcerting position—and thankful for it."—Steven Johnston, Neal A. Maxwell Chair in Political Theory, Public Policy, and Public Service, University of Utah

"This volume of essays on John Steinbeck, like the wonderful Kentucky volumes on Thoreau, Whitman, and Melville, offers finely crafted essays that explore the relationship between the political and the literary in diverse ways. These compelling essays assess the motivations and ambiguities in his engagement with politics and nationhood, and trace how that engagement is transfigured as literary art. But this volume is notable for two reasons. Obviously, essays about Steinbeck are especially timely now, as we face a time of economic crisis when suffering and inequality remain mostly invisible, when the supremacy of market values seems incontestable, and when alternatives are widely ridiculed and demonized. But also, because Steinbeck addressed his time by political activism, and because of his enormous and continuing influence in popular culture—from fifth grade curriculums to Bruce Springstein—the essays in this volume range more widely than other Kentucky volumes, and that is a welcome development in political theory."—George Shulman, New York University-Gallatin

"The collection is well conceived and well executed. It deserves a place in every city and university library in the US. [. . .] Highly recommended."—Choice