John Steinbeck (Up Close)
Throughout this entry in the Up Close biography series, distinguished historian Meltzer mines journals, correspondence, and critics’ reviews to illuminate the controversial Nobel Prize winner’s life, a “mad mixture of the greatest praise and the most scurrilous abuse.” As in other titles in the series, the book features occasional black-and-white photos, and the narrative extends intriguingly into its subject’s troubled personal life. In this case, many assertions (about one violent drunken rage, for instance) would have benefited from better sourcing, which is limited here to a bibliography and citations for quotes. Given Meltzer’s terse plot summaries and his stinting inclusion of excerpts, few newcomers to Steinbeck will be led from this treatment to the works themselves, collected in a concluding list. As supplemental reading, however, the strong historical perspective Meltzer offers, especially about the novels’ characteristic California and Depression backdrops, will enhance appreciation of any of Steinbeck’s frequently assigned titles, from The Red Pony (1937) to The Grapes of Wrath (1939). Grades 6-9. --Jennifer Mattson