John Steinbeck

For the diver Kino, finding a magnificent pearl means the promise of better life for his impoverished family. His dream blinds him to the greed and suspicions the pearl arouses in him and his neighbors, and even his loving wife cannot temper his obsession or stem the events leading to tragedy. Kino and his wife illustrate the fall from innocence of people who believe that wealth erases all problems

Vividly depicts the colorful, sometimes disreputable, inhabitants of a run-down area in Monterey, California

From the Publisher: John Steinbeck's retelling of Malory's beloved Arthurian stories will capture the attention and imagination of legions of Steinbeck fans, including those who love Arthurian romances, as well as countless readers of science fiction and fantasy literature. Featuring the icons of Arthurian legend-including King Arthur, Merlin, Morgan le Fay, the incomparable Queen Guinevere, and Arthur's purest knight, Sir Lancelot of the Lake-these...

... "Just after the Iron Curtain fell on Eastern Europe, Pulitzer Prize -- winning author John Steinbeck and acclaimed war photographer Robert Capa ventured into the Soviet Union to report for the New York Herald Tribune. This rare opportunity took the famous travelers not only to Moscow and Stalingrad -- now Volgograd -- but through the countryside of the Ukraine and the Caucasus. Hailed by the New York Times as "superb" when it first appeared in...

In Depression-era California, two migrant workers dream of better days on a spread of their own until an act of unintentional violence leads to tragic consequences

Tells the story about the strange relationship of two migrant workers who are able to realize their dreams of an easy life until one of them succumbs to his weakness for soft, helpless creatures and strangles the farmer's wife.