Roughly 1200 alphabetically arranged entries detail Steinbeck's life and writings.
An Introduction to John Steinbeck by Jackson J. Benson
Alphabetical List of Entrires
Guide to Related Entries
Chronology
Entries A-Z
Appendix: Steinbeck Archives
Bibliography
Index
Brian Railsback is Professor of English and founding dean
of the Honors College at Western Carolina University. His previous
books include Parallel Expeditions: Charles Darwin and the Art of
John Steinbeck (1995).
Michael J. Meyer is Adjunct Professor of English at DePaul
University and Northeastern Illinois University. His essays have
appeared in such journals as Steinbeck Quarterly and the Steinbeck
Newsletter, and he specializes in Steinbeck bibliography. His other
books include The Betrayal of Brotherhood in the Work of John
Steinbeck (2000).
More than 1,200 alphabetical entries cover Steinbeck's major works
along with lesser-known articles, family, friends and biographers,
books read, and awards. An introductory essay by Steinbeck scholar
Jackson J. Benson, a list of Steinbeck archives, university
collections, and research centers, and an extensive bibliography
add dimension to the numerous lengthy, signed entries. An
alphabetical list of entries begins the encyclopedia, providing a
useful, quick overview of the main text. An additional topical list
indicates the volume's scope, grouping entries under headings for
specific awards; concepts and characters in Steinbeck's works;
literary, political, and cultural influences; and places, ships,
and vehicles, both real and fictional. Entries guide users to
additional and related information through boldfaced terms and
names, along with see references. The editors specifically designed
the encyclopedia for use by high school and college students,
literature teachers, and scholars. A detailed index completes the
work. Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through
faculty/researchers.
*Choice*
[T]his Encyclopedia will serve the needs of a diverse audience,
from high school students to established academics, very well… it
is full of well-organized information on Steinbeck's life and work,
and it does provide a panoramic sweep of the history of scholarship
on this major author.
*Reference Reviews*
Wide-ranging alphabetical entries, many of which have source notes,
cover characters, settings, and the people and places that
influenced Steinbeck's life and work. Commentary on the author's
nonfiction writing makes up about half of the entries. Information
on both the print and film versions of various titles adds a
dimension and reminds readers how Steinbeck's universal themes
easily translate into other mediums. Further-reading lists for many
of the entries are useful….[t]he editors have supplied a
well-researched study of the writer's art and the people and places
that shaped it. This will be a quality addition to collections with
other sources of literary criticism, and a good start for those
without.
*School Library Journal*
Having had such a reference would have saved Railsback countless
hours of labor if such had been available when he began his studies
of this multi-genre and 1962 Nobel Prize-winning author. He and
Meyer head a team of Steinbeck scholars in compiling relevant
topics from Abner, the Aerial Engineer (in Bombs Away) to The Wrath
of John Steinbeck (a pamphlet written by a friend in 1939). In
addition to alphabetical and topical lists of entries, the volume
includes a Steinbeck chronology (1902-1968) and introductory essay
by Steinbeck biographer Jackson J. Benson. An annotated list of
Steinbeck archives is appended.
*Reference & Research Book News*
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