About this item
A resonant biography of America's most celebrated novelist of the Great Depression.The first full-length biography of the Nobel laureate to appear in a quarter century, Mad at the World illuminates what has made the work of John Steinbeck an enduring part of the literary canon: his capacity for empathy. Pulitzer Prize finalist William Souder explores Steinbeck's long apprenticeship as a writer struggling through the depths of the Great Depression, and his rise to greatness with masterpieces such as The Red Pony, Of Mice and Men, and The Grapes of Wrath. Angered by the plight of the Dust Bowl migrants who were starving even as they toiled to harvest California's limitless bounty, fascinated by the guileless decency of the downtrodden denizens of Cannery Row, and appalled by the country's refusal to recognize the humanity common to all of its citizens, Steinbeck took a stand against social injustice -- paradoxically given his inherent misanthropy -- setting him apart from the writers of the so-called "lost generation.
About the Author
William Souder is the author of three books. "A Plague of Frogs" in 2000 followed the investigation of outbreaks of deformed frogs across North America. "Under a Wild Sky," a 2004 biography of John James Audubon, won numerous awards and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. "On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson," was published by Crown in September 2012 on the 50th anniversary of Carson's "Silent Spring." It was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and was named one of the 25 Best Nonfiction Books of 2012 by Kirkus Reviews. Souder's new book is "Mad at the World: A Life of John Steinbeck," which will be published October 13, 2020 by W.W. Norton. He lives in Grant, Minnesota.
