The Harvest Gypsies: On the Road to the Grapes of Wrath

Having read Grapes of Wrath, you cannot afford to miss this. Brilliant.

This compilation of articles written by John Steinbeck is short, but contains blockbuster information. I grew up and still live in the Arvin area, so the migrant story is not a new one to me. But I never faced the harsh reality of life during this time until I read this book. Steinbeck never disappoints as far as readability, in my opinion. I never learned so much in such a short period of time.

95 highlights (Private)Fascinating collection of articles about Okies and migrant workers in California in the early 1930s written by Steinbeck for the San Francisco News. He gathered information about migrant workers, their work, their camps, and the much well run federal government camps where they lived. Steinbeck used much of what he learned writing these articles as background for his PULITZER prize winning novel Grapes of Wrath (1939). The lengthy introduction by Charles Wollenberg provides historical context for the articles. Well worth reading.

Everything arrived on time and as advertised

These seven essays were written as articles for the San Francisco News in the heart of the Great Depression about the displaced farm families who had been kicked off their land due to bank foreclosures in the midst of the Dustbowl. Their land literally blew away after some drought stricken years. The appalling response of the whole nation was to stigmatize them as "lazy," which they were not - and as "dirty," without helping them to have access to water in which to bathe. First they were beaten down by nature -- and then by the banks, the agribusinesses in California and most of their fellow Americans. Steinbeck thought they would do better than had previous foreign born pickers because they had families. He was wrong. Their families became hostages to fortune and many many died of starvation. Not our finest hour!

I've been reading a few Steinbeck books lately. A Pandemic reward I guess. In lite of the the current statis of our country this book along with the culmination of A Dubious Battle has shown me history I must have missed in school.

You can read this book in an hour. It's only 61 pages, with the introduction. It's a powerful, up-close and personal, depiction of life in the tenement migrant farmer camps in California during the US depression of the 1930s. It's also the backdrop of Mr. Steinbeck's excellent work, "The Grapes of Wrath". If you ever wondered what life would be like under unchecked capitalism, look no farther. This books lays it out.

Very short book by Steinbeck from notes he took while travelling the country during the Great depression working on 'The Grapes of Wrath". Not long, but very well written and tragic.

Excellent journalism. This is one for fans of Steinbeck and for those interested in the history of working people, especially those in the USA. It will probably appeal to those interested in politics too but it's not really a general reader, more for researchers and academics perhaps though there is no reason why the general reader shouldn't like it. I found the testimony in the articles very moving - it's another example of the ability of humans to blame and then discriminate against other humans who have less power. One can really see where some of the incidents in the novels came from - it's especially relevant to The Grapes of Wrath and to In Dubious Battle.

I bought the Kindle edition, having just finished reading the Grapes of Wrath as I was interested in the background to Steinbeck's classic. I enjoyed reading Steinbeck's articles and Dorothea Lange's photographs illustrate the grim reality of what Steinbeck is trying to get across.My only gripe is, like many Kindle books, Dorothea's images could have been better quality hence the 4 stars. However a quick internet search would get you to the better quality images.I paid £4.20 which I thought was great value

I bought the book for my son who, like his Dad is a lifelong Steinbeck fan. However, perhaps due to my not reading the 'blurb' with sufficient care, I was somewhat dismayed to find that the very slim volume was in fact a series of short newspaper articles, precursors to the great man's masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath.Having said all that, I enjoyed the read, short as it was.

Excellent description of what was happening in the America during the 30's and 40's. Anyone interested in American social history and or has read any of Steinbeck's books should read this.

Des textes d'une grande puissance, sobres et justes. Très beau et émouvant, le livre se termine par de magnifiques photos d'époque, qui, à elles seules, témoignent de la profonde misère de ces migrants du Dust Bowl ... et les autres.