Exciting new essays provide an important model for ecological criticism and an enriched appreciation of the Steinbeck canon.This interdisciplinary collection of essays explores in-depth a topic previously neglected by scholars: John Steinbeck's early and continuing preoccupation with ecology and marine biology and the effect of that interest on his writings. Written by scholars from various disciplines -- marine biology, the social and physical sciences, environmental studies, feminist theory, history, and philosophy, as well as American literature -- the essays offer a dynamic contribution to the study of John Steinbeck by considering his writings from an environmental perspective. They reveal Steinbeck as a prophet -- an author ahead of his time and supremely relevant to our own."A wonderful, readable, very significant book. It was long past time that we have a solid collection, by experts in literature and science, on the very central question of Steinbeck's relationship to the environment". -- Jackson J. Benson, San Diego State University"Steinbeck and the Environment offers a significant contribution to the study of John Steinbeck. How 'green' was John Steinbeck? asks a pivotal essay in the volume. The answers are as diverse as the contributors themselves"R. S. Hughes, author of Beyond the Red Pony and John Steinbeck: A Study of the Short Fiction