Review of: Steinbeck, A Life in Letters

edited by Elaine Steinbeck & Robert Wallsten

"In sixty years I've left a lot of tracks." This John Steinbeck
 said just six years before his death. His method of warming up
to write each day was letter writing and what a gift to the world!
This tome, and it is a tome, is 848 pages. It is a sampling of over
5.000 letters Steinbeck wrote during his life.
For me, it was better than an autobiography could have been because
it illustrated his relationships with the people in his life.
And I think it is more factual than a memoir could be,, because the
letters were written in Steinbeck's present time.
And I believe since letters are prima facie evidence,  no biographer
(without the use of them) could have captured the character of
John Steinbeck as a writer or as a man, better.
Elaine was Steinbeck's third and final wife. She was his companion
the longest-eighteen years. He said that he was happiest with her, so
she probably knew him best.
Robert Wallsten was a long time friend of both the Steinbecks.
The letters are John Steinbeck unplugged, unedited, being himself
on paper, writing about the writer he was becoming, became and his
thoughts on life, which are very much reflected in his 29 novels and
plays.
If you're a John Steinbeck enthusiast, as I am, you know he earned
both the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes for his writing. He was not only
one of our greatest American writers, he was internationally acclaimed
and never left our soil until after he was already famous.
I write this today before returning the book to the library. I plan to
own a copy when opportunity presents itself.
I highly recommend Steinbeck, a Life in Letters. It is not only a
valuable piece of treasured Americana, but a valuable piece of
world history.

raintreepoet, reporting

P.S. I am back! I have been re-writing a novel this summer; The Legend of Brady Madden.
by R.M. Knight. Look for it on ebook in the fall.