John Steinbeck was an influential 20th century American writer known for novels like Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, and East of Eden. Born in Salinas, California in 1902, he traveled extensively throughout the United States and gained insights that informed novels addressing social themes and the American experience. Steinbeck published widely acclaimed works that won him a Nobel Prize and Presidential Medal, with his novels seeking to understand and unite people.

1. INFO AT A GLANCE: JOHN STEINBECK

2. Who? John Steinbeck was an influential writer of the early 20th Century whose novels explored American culture and widespread social themes of American society.

3. What? John Steinbeck was a writer who wrote many acclaimed Novels which eventually won him the Nobel Prize for Literature and the United States Medal of Freedom. Some of his most famous novels are Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, The Pearl, The Moon is Down, In Dubious Battle, and Travels with Charley.

4. Where? John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California and died in New York, New York. During the course of his life, he travelled to Germany and Vietnam as a soldier and spent much time travelling the famous Route 66, a highway used by families leaving their farms and travelling West. Here, he gained the insight that allowed him to write such novels as The Grapes of Wrath.

5. When? Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 and died on December 20, 1968. Steinbeck published The Grapes of Wrath in 1939.

6. Why? Most of John Steinbeck’s great novel’s purposes were to explore the workings of American society and unite people through his ideas. Says he, “Try to understand men. If you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.”

7. How? John Steinbeck collected the background for the majority of his most famous novels by experiencing the things firsthand. For example, before writing The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck travelled the famous Route 66 with many of the migrating families listening to their stories and gathering information about the journey.