The American Critical Archives is a series of reference books that provide representative selections of contemporary reviews of the main works of major American authors. Each volume contains full reviews and excerpts from reviews that appeared in newspapers and weekly and monthly periodicals, generally within a few months of the publication of the work concerned. There is an introductory historical overview by the volume editor, as well as checklists of additional reviews located but not quoted. This volume collects the critical responses of Steinbeck's generation to his many fiction and non-fiction works, as they appeared from the late 1920s on. The articles trace the record of Steinbeck's progress through the 1930s and go on to reflect Steinbeck's steady series of achievements through the 1960s, including his attainment of the Nobel Prize in 1967. These articles offer a means of seeing Steinbeck's writings as they were perceived by his contemporaries, whose task it was to first evaluate and interpret them for an ever-growing readership.

This volume is the first to collect the critical responses of Steinbeck's generation to his many fiction and nonfiction works, as they appeared from the late 1920s on. The articles trace the record of Steinbeck's progress through the 1930s and go on to reflect his steady series of achievements through the 1960s, including his attainment of the Nobel Prize in 1967. These articles offer at last a means of seeing Steinbeck's writings as they were perceived by his contemporaries, whose task it was first to evaluate and interpret them for an ever-growing readership.