This work includes 1200 alphabetically arranged entries that detail Steinbeck's life and writings. It provides roughly 1200 alphabetically arranged entries by more than 40 expert contributors; discusses Steinbeck's major works and characters; includes information about Steinbeck's family members and contemporaries; and, covers various special topics related to his life and writings. It is accessible to school students, undergraduates, and general readers. Known for his searing social criticism, John Steinbeck is one of the most popular and influential American writers of the 20th century. His works are read and studied at all levels and have been made into films. And though critics and scholars initially found fault with his enormously popular works, he is now widely recognised as a master of his craft. This encyclopedia provides an extensive overview of Steinbeck's life and career and is accessible to school students, undergraduates, and general readers. The work presents some 1200 alphabetically arranged entries by more than 40 expert contributors. These entries cover Steinbeck's works, major characters, family and contemporaries, influences, and a range of special topics. The entries include: Henry Adams, Saul Bellow, "Discourse", "East of Eden", William Faulkner, Hollywood, Granpa Joad, Carl Jung, Herman Melville, Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, "Of Mice and Men", Pacific Biological Laboratory, Poetry, Short Story Cycle, Tagus Ranch, and many more. Many of the entries cite works for further reading, and the encyclopedia closes with a selected, general bibliography.