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John Steinbeck – The Writer Who Captured America and the Open Road
Discover the life, journeys and books of one of America’s greatest storytellers.
John Steinbeck was not a travel writer in the normal sense of the word.
He is therefore not usually the first name that comes to mind when people talk about travel writers. However, for me, he belongs in my Dave’s Travel World list of top travel writers for a very good reason.
Steinbeck understood that travel isn’t simply about moving from one destination to another. It’s about the people you meet, the landscapes you pass through, the communities you encounter and the changes taking place within a country. – His writing captures all of these things.
From migrant workers travelling west during America’s Great Depression to the people and places he encountered during his own journeys across the United States, Steinbeck repeatedly explored what it meant to travel, to belong somewhere — or to be searching for somewhere else.
Fittingly, in his last book, Travels with Charley: In Search of America, he turned the open road itself into the subject of one of his most fascinating books.
For anyone interested in travel, journeys, the United States or simply great storytelling, Steinbeck is a writer worth discovering.
Who Was John Steinbeck?
John Steinbeck (1902–1968) was an American storyteller, best known for his powerful novels about ordinary people, working communities and the social challenges of twentieth-century America.
Much of his writing was rooted in California, particularly the Salinas Valley and the Monterey area, where he grew up and which provided the setting for many of his best-known works.
His characters are often people on the move. – Farm workers, migrants, labourers, drifters and families searching for a better life.
This gives many of his books a strong sense of journey and place.
Steinbeck’s writing is also notable for the way he combines vivid descriptions of landscapes with an intense interest in the people who inhabit them. That combination is the reason his work fits so naturally into my collection of travel-related writers and storytellers.
Why Does Steinbeck Belong on a Travel Writers Site?
As already said, Steinbeck was not a travel writer in the traditional sense. – He was a novelist, journalist and storyteller. Travel is, however, woven into much of his writing.
His characters cross California in search of work. Families migrate across America. People leave their homes looking for opportunity. Others simply wander.
And Steinbeck himself travelled extensively.
His observations of America gave him an unusually strong understanding of the country’s landscapes, communities and social divisions.
Perhaps the clearest expression of this fascination with travel came late in his career, when he set out on a road journey around America with his French poodle, Charley.
That journey became:
Travels with Charley: In Search of America
This is the Steinbeck book I would particularly recommend to readers of Dave’s Travel World. – It is both a travel book and a portrait of America at a particular moment in its history.
Steinbeck travelled through different parts of the country, meeting people and observing how America was changing. The result is a fascinating combination of:
- road travel;
- landscapes;
- conversations with ordinary Americans;
- observations about American society; and
- reflections on change
It sets out Steinbeck’s own thoughts about the country he called home
If you enjoy travelling by road and discovering a country through its people, Travels with Charley is an obvious place to start.
What Makes Steinbeck’s Books So Compelling?
There is a strong connection between Steinbeck’s writing and the idea of the open road.
Steinbeck’s novels are mainly set in the Midwest and far west of the United States. This is a vast, open part of the country, and movement across this landscape is central to many of his stories.
Perhaps the most famous example is in his book, The Grapes of Wrath.
The Joad family are forced from their home in Oklahoma and undertake a difficult journey westwards towards California. Their journey, though, is much more than a geographical journey. It is a story about migration, poverty, hope, exploitation and the search for a better life.
The road becomes a symbol of both opportunity and hardship.
This is one of the things I find particularly interesting about Steinbeck.
A journey in his writing is rarely just about getting somewhere. It’s usually about what happens to people along the way. – The People Behind the Journeys
Another reason Steinbeck’s work appeals to me as a traveller is his interest in ordinary people. He wasn’t simply interested in famous landmarks or spectacular scenery. He wanted to understand how people lived.
He wrote about the life of:
- Workers.
- Farmers.
- Migrants.
- Fishermen.
- Small-town communities.
- People struggling to make a living.
- People trying to find somewhere they belonged.
That human focus gives his writing a quality that remains relevant to travellers today.
This resonates today, where commercialised travel is all about getting that Instagram picture, doing this tour or visiting that hostel or bar – Real travel is much more than that!
When travelling independently, some of the most memorable experiences often come not from visiting a famous attraction but from seeing how people actually live. Steinbeck understood this remarkably well.
Which Six John Steinbeck Books Are Particularly Recommended?
Steinbeck wrote a large number of novels, short stories, non-fiction works and other books. Rather than attempting to list them all here, I’ve selected six that I believe are particularly interesting for readers coming to Steinbeck through travel and exploration.
These are as follows:
Travels with Charley: In Search of America
This book is the natural starting point for anyone interested in travel writing.
It sets out Steinbeck’s account of his journey around America with Charley, his dog. It provides a fascinating portrait of the country, its people and its changing landscape.
The Grapes of Wrath
This tells the story of an extraordinary journey undertaken during the era of the American Depression. – The Joad family’s journey from Oklahoma to California is one of the great journeys in American literature.
The book combines movement across the American landscape with powerful observations about poverty, migration and social injustice.
Of Mice and Men
This is the story of two travellers searching for work and a better future. – George and Lennie move from ranch to ranch in California looking for employment.
Their journey is much shorter than the one described in The Grapes of Wrath, but once again Steinbeck uses movement and uncertainty to explore friendship, loneliness and the search for a better life.
Cannery Row
This is a portrait of Monterey and the people who live there. Set in Monterey, California, Cannery Row is less about travel itself and more about place. – Steinbeck creates a vivid picture of a particular community and its inhabitants.
For readers interested in understanding the places behind Steinbeck’s writing, it is an excellent book to explore.
East of Eden
East of Eden is a story centred on California, family, landscape and generations of change. – It is one of Steinbeck’s most ambitious novels.
Set largely in California’s Salinas Valley, it explores family, morality, ambition and the choices people make.
The landscape is an important part of the story and provides another example of Steinbeck’s ability to turn a place into something almost as important as the characters themselves.
Tortilla Flat
Tortilla Flat takes the reader into another side of Steinbeck’s California. It is a story of friendship, poverty, community and a group of people living outside conventional society.
It provides an entertaining introduction to some of the themes that appear repeatedly throughout Steinbeck’s work.
Which John Steinbeck Book Should You Read First?
That depends on what brings you to Steinbeck.
- If you’re interested in travel, start with Travels with Charley. – It’s the most obvious introduction to Steinbeck as a traveller and observer of America.
- If you’re interested in journeys and migration, read The Grapes of Wrath. – It’s one of the great journeys in American literature.
- If you want a shorter introduction, try Of Mice and Men. It’s relatively short but contains many of the themes that make Steinbeck such a powerful writer.
- Finally, if you’re fascinated by California, try Cannery Row or East of Eden. – Both provide very different perspectives on the California Steinbeck knew so well.
Why Have I Included John Steinbeck in My List of Top Travel Writers?
I first came to read Steinbeck’s work through his storytelling, rather than through his Travels with Charley. The more I have explored his work, though, the more obvious his relevance to travel has become.
His books repeatedly ask questions that are also at the heart of independent travel:
- Who are these people?
- Why are they here?
- Where have they come from?
- Where are they going?
- What is life really like in this place?
These are the questions that make travelling so rewarding, and they are also the questions that great travel writers ask.
For me, that is why Steinbeck deserves his place among the writers featured on Dave’s Travel World.
Do You Want to Find Out More?
This page has introduced some of the reasons why I think Steinbeck is worth reading, but there is much more to discover.
For more information about John Steinbeck, including:
- a biography;
- a synopsis of each of his books; and
- links to Amazon pages for each of his works
Please visit the following page.
Which Other Travel Writers Should You Explore?
If you enjoyed discovering John Steinbeck, you may also like:
Dervla Murphy – One of the greatest independent travel writers
Paul Theroux — long-distance rail journeys and travel observation
Patrick Leigh Fermor — walking across Europe in a single journey
Nick Danziger — travel beyond the tourist trail
J R R Tolkien – Not a travel writer, but the inventor of Middle-earth and the world’s most engaging fictional journey
A Final Thought
John Steinbeck once travelled around America in a pickup truck with his dog, Charley.
His most important journeys, though, were not necessarily the ones measured in miles.
Again and again, his writing takes us on journeys through people’s lives — through poverty and prosperity, migration and belonging, hope and disappointment.
That is what makes his work so interesting to me as a traveller.
The best journeys don’t simply show us somewhere new. They help us see the world differently.
And that is exactly what a great travel book should do.
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