The Grapes of Wrath: Text and Criticism; Revised Edition (Critical Library, Viking) [Paperback]

John Steinbeck (Author), Peter Lisca (Editor), Kevin Hearle (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0140247750 | ISBN-13: 978-0140247756 | Edition: Revised

John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression follows the western moevement of wone family and a nation in search of work and human dignity. This completely updated Viking Critical Library Edition of The Grapes of Wrath includes the full text of the novel, corrected in 1996, as well as extensive and contextual material including:

• Essays placing The Grapes of Wrath in social context, including a 1942 essay by Carey McWilliams about migrant workers and working conditions and a Martin Schockley piece on the reception of The Grapes of Wrath in Oklahoma
• Eight new essays by John Ditsky, Nellie Y. McKay, MimiReisel Gladstein, Louis Owens, and others
• An essay on the background to the composition of The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck's biographer, Jackson J. Benson
• An introduction by the editor, a chronology, a list of topics for discussion and papers, and a bibliography

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 736 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Revised edition (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140247750
• ISBN-13: 978-0140247756
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #630,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why the Grapes of Wrath?, February 28, 2001

By 

ryan elliott (Nee Mexico, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Grapes of Wrath: Text and Criticism; Revised Edition (Critical Library, Viking) (Paperback)

When George Steinbeck made this book, he assigned the title "the Grapes of Wrath". Why did he do this? I personally think that he did this to make his readers ponder the meaning of the title. I think that it means different things to anyone that reads the title. To mean it means, The hardships of life.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As relevant today as it ever was, September 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Grapes of Wrath: Text and Criticism; Revised Edition (Critical Library, Viking) (Paperback)

Steinbeck wrote this book as a political statement and it is still as powerful today as in the 30s. When it was published, it brought national attention to the plight of the migrants. Many of our crops are still picked by migrant workers who work for a pittance - they harvest the abundance of the land but reap poor returns for their pains.

5.0 out of 5 stars the book was written with poetic sadness that moves reader, June 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Grapes of Wrath: Text and Criticism; Revised Edition (Critical Library, Viking) (Paperback)

The Grapes of Wrath is one of the most important novels both historically and stylisticly that has ever come out of America. As the reader is taken down the road of hardship and economic injustice that the Joad family must travel, his eyes are open to the terrible calamities that the depression and the Dust Bowl brought on poor farmers. We gain a greater understanding and appreciation for the courage and perseverance displayed by thousands and thousands of migrant workers forced out of their native lands and compelled to compete for slave labor. Through his poetic use of the English language, Steinbeck educates us and inspires us to recognize the indominatable human spirit.