In Conversations with John Steinbeck Thomas Fensch collects all of Steinbeck's public interviews and allows him to speak in his own behalf in an illuminating expression of his intentions, goals and achievements.

From the beginnings of his career through his last years, the interviews reveal a

fascinating, controversial and captivating personality. In the thirties and forties he made readers socially aware, and in the years following publication of Tortilla Flat, The Grapes of Wrath and Cannery Row, Steinbeck attempted to hide from publicity and controversy.

By the time he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, Steinbeck had become a citizen of the world, but some critics groused that he was awarded the prize for dated work from the 1930s.

This collection is invaluable for Steinbeck scholars and students.