The harvest gypsies : on the road to the Grapes of wrath /

With the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Grapes of Wrath fast approaching, bringing with it a new edition of the novel as well as the first printing of the text of the journals John Steinbeck kept as he wrote it, this little volume usefully serves to remind us of the origins of the writer's masterpiece--as a series of seven commissioned articles that the suddenly famous (on the strength of the success of Tortilla Flat) author wrote for the San Francisco News in 1936. The student and the scholar will find these essays valuable as foreshadowings of the content and the tone of the epic novel that was published three years afterward. In a state where criticism of the brutal policies of the large agricultural growers could result in violence, Steinbeck chooses not to mute his outrage, though he lets his account of conditions and sufferers speak for itself; and interestingly, for a Californian audience known for its propensity for racism, he judiciously pitches his appeal on behalf of the migrant "Okies" in terms of their being "white American labor" and thus entitled to special consideration. This necessary volume is fitted with a map and a tidy introduction by historian Charles Wollenberg; and its publishers have had the good sense to grace it with eloquent photographs by Dorothea Lange and others. Recommended for academic, secondary school, and public libraries. -J. M. Ditsky, University of Windsor

In 1936, a San Francisco newspaper commissioned Steinbeck to write a week-long series of articles about California's underclass of white migrant farm workers, who became the models and the inspiration for The Grapes of Wrath. Reprinted here, Steinbeck's observations of migrant families and of their exploitation by wealthy agriculturists have not lost their potency. And as Wollenberg, a history professor at Vista College, Berkeley, Calif., points out, the plight of the newly destitute and newly homeless has particular relevance today. Steinbeck's journalism shares the enduring quality of his famous novel (but critics of Steinbeck will beware; his heavy-handed style is only slightly less obtrusive here). Especially interesting are the final articles, which analyze the history of California's migrant populations and propose federal programs to alleviate their distress. Steinbeck's outrage leads to an emotional indictment of then-current farm management as ``a system of terrorism that would be unusual in the Fascist nations of the world.'' Certain to engage students of both American literature and labor history. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved