John Steinbeck, página 5 de 16

George and his simple-minded friend, Lennie, are travelling farm-workers who dream of settling down in a place of their own. But when they start work on a Salinas Valley ranch things start to go wrong. A compelling tale that will haunt all who read it.

Just after the iron curtain fell on Eastern Europe John Steinbeck and acclaimed war photographer, Robert Capa ventured into the Soviet Union to report for the New York Herald Tribune. This rare opportunity took the famous travellers not only to Moscow and Stalingrad - now Volgograd - but through the countryside of the Ukraine and the Caucasus. A Russian Journal is the distillation of their journey and remains a remarkable memoir and unique historical document. Steinbeck and Capa recorded the grim realities of factory workers, government clerks, and peasants, as they emerged from the rubble of World War II. This is an intimate glimpses of two artists at the height of their powers, answering their need to document human struggle

Each of these delightful interconnected tales is devoted to a family living in a fertile valley on the outskirts of Monterey, California, and the effects that one particular family has on them all. Steinbeck tackles two important literary traditions here; American naturalism, with its focus on the conflict between natural instincts and the demand to conform to society's norms, and the short story cycle. Set in the heart of 'Steinbeck land', the lush Californian valleys.

Set in England, Africa and Italy this collection of Steinbeck's World War II news correspondence was written for the New Yolk Herald Tribune in the latter part of 1943.

Unha trama de malentendidos George é un tipo pequeño e desconfiado. Lennie é un retrasado, cunha inmensa forza física, que intenta facer ben todo o que George lle di. Son dous vagamundos pobres e sen fogar que soñan con chegar a ter unha casa propia, con animais dos que coidar. Contratados como xornaleiros por unha granxa californiana, introducense nunha trama de malentendidos que os conducira a un final desgraciado.

Este libro, que se publicou por primeira vez en 1948, ten hoxe a consideración dun clásico da literatura deste século. Baseada nunha lenda mexicana, conta a historia dunha perla, grande como un ovo de gaivota, tan fermosa e perfecta como a lua, que un dia cambia dun xeito radical a vida de Kino e da sua familia. Desde enton, o propio Kino e a sua muller Juana e Coyotito, o fillo de ambos, vanse ver afectados pola posesion desta perla. A sorte desta familia humilde e seguida polo lector co dramatismo que Steinbeck lle imprime ao seu relato.

When the Joads lose their farm in the Oklaholma dust-bowl, they join the thousands of people travelling towards the golden promise of California. Instead they meet hostility, humiliation and poverty. Steinbeck's portrait of the horrors of the Depression is a landmark of American literature and won the Pulitzer Prize.

Both a fast-paced story of social unrest and strike, and the tale of one young man's struggle for identity, IN DUBIOUS BATTLE is a novel about the apocalyptic violence that breaks out when the masses become the mob. Set in California apple country, a strike by migrant workers spirals out of control, as principled defiance turns into blind fanaticism. Caught in this upheaval is Jim Nolan, a once aimless man who finds himself briefly becoming the leader of the strike before being crushed in its service. IN DUBIOUS BATTLE explores and dramatises many of the ideas and themes key to Steinbeck's writing.

Steinbeck's brilliant rendition of stories heroic, romantic and tragic from Malory's Morte D'Arthur chronicles the life of Arthur from his mysterious birth through battles and adventures to his establishment as king. In characteristic Steinbeck style the tales - including the fateful marriage to Guinevere and the creation of the fellowship of the knights of the Round Table - emphasize the human qualities of legendary characters. Steinbeck transposed, contextualized and added to the stories, so that they are as alive for us today as they were to Malory's readers some five hundred years ago. The Acts of King Arthur was published posthumously in 1976. An appendix of letters written by Steinbeck gives a fascinating insight into how he approached Malory's original work.

Kino finds a pearl as large as a seagull's egg which he thinks will save his family from poverty. But the pearl is merely what they think they want instead of what they need. The misfortune it brings changes the life of the family forever. A powerful re-telling of a Mexican folk tale by one of America's greatest writers.

Joseph Wayne believes a magnificent tree on his farm embodies his father's spirit. His brother, scared by Joseph's pagan belief, kills the tree, bringing disease and famine on the farm. This mystical tale explores one man's attempt to control the forces of nature and to understand the ways of God.

Shocking and controversial when it was first published in 1939, Steinbecks Pulitzer prize-winning epic, The Grapes of Wrath, remains his undisputed masterpiece. Set against the background of Dust Bowl Oklahoma and Californian migrant life, it tells of the Joad family, who, like thousands of others, are forced to travel west in search of the promised land. Their story is one of false hopes, thwarted desires and broken dreams, yet out of their suffering Steinbeck created a drama that is intensely human, yet majestic in its scale and moral vision; an eloquent tribute to the endurance and dignity of the human spirit.

In the din and stink that is Cannery Row a colourful blend of misfits - gamblers, whores, drunks, bums, and artists - survive side by side in a jumble of adventure and mischief. Lee Chong, the astute owner of the fantastically well-stocked grocery store, is also the proprietor of the Palace Flophouse that Mack and his troupe of good-natured 'boys' call home. Dora, of the flaming orange hair and taste for Nile green dresses, runs the brothel with clockwork efficiency. Doc, who owns the laboratory, is the fount of all generosity and wisdom. Everybody wants to do something nice for Doc: the trouble is, he always ends up paying. Packed with invention and joie de vivre, Cannery Row is Steinbeck's high-spirited tribute to his native California.

Like most ten-year-old boys, Jody Tiflin has the urge for rebellion as well as the need to be loved. In these stories, Jody begins to learn about adulthood - its pains, its responsibilities and its problems - through his acceptance of his father's gifts. First he is given a red pony and later he is promised the colt of a bay mare. Yet both of these gifts bring tragedy as well as joy, and Jody is taught not only the harsh lessons of life and death, but made painfully aware of the fallibility of adults.