"You can only understand people if you feel them in yourself" (Steinbeck) - Background

Father: German. Bookkeeper, manager and eventually treasurer of Monterey County.

Mother: Irish. Loved art, liked stories of fantasy and enchantment. Teacher.

Full name: John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr.

Born: February 27, 1902

Birthplace: Salinas, CA

Deceased: December 20, 1968 (age 66)

Spouses: Carol Henning (divorced); Gwyndolyn “Gwyn” Conger (divorced); Elaine Scott

Children: Thomas “Thorn” Myles Steinbeck; John Steinbeck IV, both with Gwyndolyn Conger

Works: 27 (16 novels, 6 non-fiction books, 5short stories collections)

Major awards: Pulitzer Prize Fiction Award – The Grapes of Wrath (1940); Nobel Prize for Literature (1962); United States Medal of Freedom (1964); Trustee of John F. Kennedy Memorial Library (1964)

"I guess there are never enough books."
— John Steinbeck

References:  http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/the-life-and-times-of-john-steinbeck
www.buzzle.com/articles/john-steinbeck-facts.html