John Ernst Steinbeck was bom on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California. His best books concern his idyllic youth and turbulent young adulthood in California.

Born just after the closing of the frontier, Steinbeck matured as an artist during the dark days of the Great Depression. Steinbeck often asserted, however, that he enjoyed a happy childhood. His father made enough money to indulge him in a small way, even to buy him a red pony, the germ of his most famous book for younger readers. His mother encouraged him to read and to write, providing him with the classics of English and American literature, such as the Arthurian tales of Sir Thomas Malory. A popular and successful student and athlete in high school, he was elected president of his senior class.

After graduation in 1919, Steinbeck enrolled at Stanford University. He soon suffered academic difficulties and dropped...