bvargo's review against another edition
4.0
This is a really interesting auto/biographical look at Steinbeck through his nonfiction. E.g., I had no idea he supported the Vietnam War in 1964. It is really worth reading if you're a Steinbeck fan.
nellybly's review
5.0
I absolutely loved this, John Steinbeck has a very special place in my heart. Even though I always enjoyed reading, it wasn't until I read "Of Mice and Men" when I was 15 that I realized that a book can be something other than just a story. It was the literary version of getting punched in the stomach. I still remember how I felt each time I read a Steinbeck novel.
This was my first time reading any of his non-fiction, however. It covers everything from his life in California, his travels to Paris, Americans, the Vietnam war, and the essays that inspired "the Grapes of Wrath." Funny, entertaining, upsetting, and eye-opening. I truly enjoyed this.
This was my first time reading any of his non-fiction, however. It covers everything from his life in California, his travels to Paris, Americans, the Vietnam war, and the essays that inspired "the Grapes of Wrath." Funny, entertaining, upsetting, and eye-opening. I truly enjoyed this.
silverthane's review against another edition
4.0
In America and Americans we see a different side to John Steinbeck. We don't see the earthy novelist writing about Salinas or some other nameless province in California. We see John Steinbeck the journalist writing about an America he is intimately acquainted with. An America he at once loves and seethes with frustration at. John was equally capable of praise and condemnation.
The book is a collection of articles written over decades all with a common theme: America. The articles discuss both the country and the people giving an excellent all round view of the country, both its past and where it's going but it isn't a history book in the strictest sense but more the sort of book that gives you an overall impression of a place. Rather than focus on what Americans DO it tells us what they ARE. It is a book that contains history, politics, philosophy and pure journalism in the form of letters and opinion pieces ranging from the shameful treatment of the migrant workers living in California (nicknamed Okies) to the Vietnam War. At times the articles were a little 'preachy' particularly towards the end of Steinbeck's life and I didn't always agree with the conclusions he came to but that isn't necessary to simply enjoy the fact that he was a tremendously talented, intelligent man with a gift for writing.
This was a thoroughly interesting, informative and enjoyable read particularly if you are a fan of John Steinbeck, history or America in general.
The book is a collection of articles written over decades all with a common theme: America. The articles discuss both the country and the people giving an excellent all round view of the country, both its past and where it's going but it isn't a history book in the strictest sense but more the sort of book that gives you an overall impression of a place. Rather than focus on what Americans DO it tells us what they ARE. It is a book that contains history, politics, philosophy and pure journalism in the form of letters and opinion pieces ranging from the shameful treatment of the migrant workers living in California (nicknamed Okies) to the Vietnam War. At times the articles were a little 'preachy' particularly towards the end of Steinbeck's life and I didn't always agree with the conclusions he came to but that isn't necessary to simply enjoy the fact that he was a tremendously talented, intelligent man with a gift for writing.
This was a thoroughly interesting, informative and enjoyable read particularly if you are a fan of John Steinbeck, history or America in general.
saramira's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books I have ever read.
John Steinbeck is an author full of humanism and this characteristic is present throughout this compilations of texts.
He gives a true testimony about America and the world from the 30s to the 60s. That is still essential even these days.
John Steinbeck is an author full of humanism and this characteristic is present throughout this compilations of texts.
He gives a true testimony about America and the world from the 30s to the 60s. That is still essential even these days.
timshel's review
3.0
America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction is two different books. One is Steinbeck's final book, a collection of essays published in 1966 entitled America and Americans. In this slender volume, Steinbeck's thoughts on the state of America were originally paired with photographs by acclaimed photographers such as Ansel Adams, Gordon Parks, and Alfred Eisenstaedt (these photos do not accompany later editions).
The other book here is the Selected Nonfiction. Many people are unaware that throughout Steinbeck's career, the author was a prolific writer of short pieces of nonfiction. He published several hundred essays on a wide variety of topics. America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction includes fifty four of these essays.
Together, all these various pieces feel disjointed. Part of the problem was Steinbeck himself. Despite persistent views that Steinbeck was this or was that, he was an individual who chose not to become any one thing. He did not subscribe to a particular ideology and all that came with it. So, while Steinbeck may have been extremely far left leaning in some areas, he was very conservative in others. While he may have been very cultured, he was also very domestic. While he could be secular, he was also religious. Steinbeck was no one particular thing. As such, he succeeded in being offensive to a very large percentage of the populace. The same man who complains about the evil capitalism of the American corporation praises the American military in Korea and Vietnam for being above reproach. From one essay to the next, the result can be dizzying.
Those who've read Steinbeck extensively as I have will recognize many of the pieces. Selections from some of Steinbeck's published books such as The Harvest Gypsies, A Russian Journal, Once There Was a War, and The Log from the Sea of Cortez are present. Also here are a relatively small selection of those pieces Steinbeck published in various magazines from the 1930s through the 1960s.
There's nothing spectacular here, though there are moments here and there when Steinbeck shines. Particularly, I think of his chapter in America and Americans called “Created Equal” where he addressed the plight of the descendants of African slavery in a rather open-minded and forward-thinking way for a white man of his era. There's also nothing too surprising here, though, as I implied earlier, some of Steinbeck's views are jarring.
America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction is a Steinbeck book for the Steinbeck die hard. Casual readers of Steinbeck will likely grow bored of the book before reaching the end. Myself, I found some selections fascinating, some tedious, but most were little more than clever observations by an astute mind.
The other book here is the Selected Nonfiction. Many people are unaware that throughout Steinbeck's career, the author was a prolific writer of short pieces of nonfiction. He published several hundred essays on a wide variety of topics. America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction includes fifty four of these essays.
Together, all these various pieces feel disjointed. Part of the problem was Steinbeck himself. Despite persistent views that Steinbeck was this or was that, he was an individual who chose not to become any one thing. He did not subscribe to a particular ideology and all that came with it. So, while Steinbeck may have been extremely far left leaning in some areas, he was very conservative in others. While he may have been very cultured, he was also very domestic. While he could be secular, he was also religious. Steinbeck was no one particular thing. As such, he succeeded in being offensive to a very large percentage of the populace. The same man who complains about the evil capitalism of the American corporation praises the American military in Korea and Vietnam for being above reproach. From one essay to the next, the result can be dizzying.
Those who've read Steinbeck extensively as I have will recognize many of the pieces. Selections from some of Steinbeck's published books such as The Harvest Gypsies, A Russian Journal, Once There Was a War, and The Log from the Sea of Cortez are present. Also here are a relatively small selection of those pieces Steinbeck published in various magazines from the 1930s through the 1960s.
There's nothing spectacular here, though there are moments here and there when Steinbeck shines. Particularly, I think of his chapter in America and Americans called “Created Equal” where he addressed the plight of the descendants of African slavery in a rather open-minded and forward-thinking way for a white man of his era. There's also nothing too surprising here, though, as I implied earlier, some of Steinbeck's views are jarring.
America and Americans and Selected Nonfiction is a Steinbeck book for the Steinbeck die hard. Casual readers of Steinbeck will likely grow bored of the book before reaching the end. Myself, I found some selections fascinating, some tedious, but most were little more than clever observations by an astute mind.
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