John Steinbeck consistently appears on class reading lists across the U.S., and his work has influenced generations. Steinbeck lived and wrote during some of the most eventful and controversial eras of twentieth-century America, including the struggles of California's migrant workers during the 1930s, which led to his masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath.

A complicated man whose personal life often took a backseat to his writing—he fought his way through three marriages, was a distant father, and battled with alcoholism—Steinbeck wrote because he was compelled to. Yet he always doubted his abilities, and lived in fear of never writing a decent book.

Milton Meltzer's biography includes numerous excerpts of this iconic author's writing, and is the latest addition to the Up Close series.