An epic human drama by John Steinbeck, one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century, The Grapes of Wrath depicts the devastating effects of the Great Depression, and won both the American National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. 'To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth.' Drought and economic depression are driving thousands from Oklahoma. As their land becomes just another strip in the dust bowl, the Joads, a family ...
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An epic human drama by John Steinbeck, one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century, The Grapes of Wrath depicts the devastating effects of the Great Depression, and won both the American National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. 'To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth.' Drought and economic depression are driving thousands from Oklahoma. As their land becomes just another strip in the dust bowl, the Joads, a family of sharecroppers, decide they have no choice but to follow. They head west, towards California, where they hope to find work and a future for their family. But while the journey to this promised land will take its inevitable toll, there remains uncertainty about what awaits their arrival . . . Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, The Grapes of Wrath is an epic human drama. Of this novel, Steinbeck himself said: 'I've done my damndest to rip a reader's nerves to rags, I don't want him satisfied.'
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Add this copy of The Grapes of Wrath to cart. $17,500.00, like new condition, Sold by Whitmore Rare Books, ships from Pasadena, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1939 by Viking Press.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine jacket. A Fine copy of the book in a price-clipped dust jacket that is otherwise in Fine condition (retaining critical "First Edition" slug on the lower flap). No previous ownership markings, an extremely clean, fresh copy with a bright yellow top-stain. Jacket exceptionally bright, without fading or toning, one short tear at the base of the spine had been repaired with tape on the verso, tape now removed. Housed in a custom clamshell case. Steinbeck's classic account of the Dust Bowl and Depression era struggle of the Joad family, The Grapes of Wrath is a quintessential American classic. It would win both the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize; and the Nobel Prize committee would refer to it as Steinbeck's "epic chronicle" upon giving him the award in 1962. The book was the best-selling novel of 1939 and became instantly controversial upon its release for its depiction of farmers and worker rights. Of course, The Grapes of Wrath was also adapted into the classic 1940 film, directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda, which was one of the first films selected by The Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. "It is a very long novel, the longest that Steinbeck has written, and yet it reads as if it had been composed in a flash, ripped off the typewriter and delivered to the public as an ultimatum" (Contemporary New York Times Review). Fine in Fine dust jacket.
Add this copy of Grapes of Wrath to cart. $11,000.00, very good condition, Sold by Heritage Book Shop, LLC rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Beverly Hills, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1939 by The Viking Press.
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Full Description: STEINBECK, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: The Viking Press, [1939]. First edition, first issue with "First Published in April 1939" on copyright page and first edition notice on front flap of dust jacket. Octavo (8 x 5 3/8 inches; 203 x 137 mm). [vi], 619, [3, blank] pp. In publisher's dust jacket illustrated by Elmer Hader. Publisher's original beige cloth. Boards and spine pictorially stamped and lettered in reddish-brown. Top edge dyed yellow. Endpapers with a portion of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" printed in reddish-brown. Some minor toning to endpapers. Jacket with "First Edition" slug on front flap and with the printed price of $2.75. Jacket at top edge with the slightest amount of rubbing. Still overall an about fine copy in an about fine jacket. Housed in a blue cloth clamshell with an image from the dust jacket blindstamped on the front. This novel, about the trials and tribulations of the Joad family, forced to migrate from the Depression-era "dust-bowl" of Oklahoma to California. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1940, and remains one of the most beloved American novels of all time. Goldstone & Payne A12a. HBS 68834. $11, 000.
Add this copy of The Grapes of Wrath to cart. $9,375.00, very good condition, Sold by Charles Agvent, ABAA rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Fleetwood, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1941 by The Sun Dial Press.
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Near Fine in a toned, Very Good or better dustwrapper with light chipping at the spine tips. Attractive reprint in essentially the same format, though slightly smaller, of this winner of the Pulitzer Prize. This copy INSCRIBED and SIGNED by Steinbeck on the front endpaper to famed Mexican director and actor Emilio Fernández: "For Emilio (Kikapoo) [sic] Fernandez/in hope that/we will have more grapes/than wrath/John Steinbeck." A superb and rare inscription incorporating the title of the book and a fine association copy. Fernández, whose father was a revolutionary general and whose mother was a member of the Kickapoo people, directed the 1947 film of Steinbeck's THE PEARL and co-wrote the screenplay for it with Steinbeck, one of 129 films Fernández either directed or in which he appeared as an actor. Fernández is also rumored to be the model for the Oscar statuette, legend suggesting that MGM art director Cedric Gibbons, one of the original Motion Picture Academy members tasked with creating the Academy Award trophy, was introduced to Fernández by actress Dolores del Río and persuaded him to pose nude.
Add this copy of The Grapes of Wrath to cart. $8,500.00, very good condition, Sold by Whitmore Rare Books, ships from Pasadena, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1939 by Viking Press.
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Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. A Near Fine copy of the book in like dust jacket. Book with a faint dampstain on the edge of the front end paper and the half-title, otherwise a clean, excellent example. In a jacket that has a little chip at the spine and front flap fold, retaining the critical "first edition" slug on the lower flap fold. Spine a trifle toned, otherwise a bight fresh copy. Steinbeck's classic account of the Dust Bowl and Depression era struggle of the Joad family, The Grapes of Wrath is a quintessential American classic. It would win both the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize; and the Nobel Prize committee would refer to it as Steinbeck's "epic chronicle" upon giving him the award in 1962. The book was the best-selling novel of 1939 and became instantly controversial upon its release for its depiction of farmers and worker rights. Of course, The Grapes of Wrath was also adapted into the classic 1940 film, directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda, which was one of the first films selected by The Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. "It is a very long novel, the longest that Steinbeck has written, and yet it reads as if it had been composed in a flash, ripped off the typewriter and delivered to the public as an ultimatum" (Contemporary New York Times Review). Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket.
Add this copy of The Grapes of Wrath to cart. $7,800.00, very good condition, Sold by Raptis Rare Books rated 1.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Palm Beach, FL, UNITED STATES, published by The Viking Press.
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First edition, with "First Published in April 1939" on copyright page and first edition notice on the front flap of the dust jacket. Octavo, original beige cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch of shelfwear, contemporary name to the front free endpaper. Jacket design by Elmer Hader. An exceptional example. "The Grapes of Wrath is the kind of art that's poured out of a crucible in which are mingled pity and indignation Its power and importance do not lie in its political insight but in its intense humanity [It] is the American novel of the season, probably the year, possibly the decade" (Clifton Fadiman). It is the basis for the 1940 John Ford directed film, bearing the same name starring Henry Fonda. It is widely considered as one of the greatest American films of all time. In 1989, this film was one of the first 25 films to be selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Listed by Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of the twentieth century.
Add this copy of The Grapes of Wrath Signed to cart. $7,754.95, very good condition, Sold by RARE BOOK CELLAR rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Pomona, NY, UNITED STATES, published 1940 by Viking Press.
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Very Good+ in a Very Good+ clipped dust jacket. Rubbing along panel edges. Light chipping at spine crown/heel. Open tear running down entire front gutter, mended by previous owner.; Signed by John Steinbeck on title page.; Signed by Author.
Add this copy of The Grapes of Wrath to cart. $7,450.00, very good condition, Sold by J Mercurio Books Maps & Prints rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Garrison, NY, UNITED STATES, published 1939 by Viking Press.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. 1st Printing. Publishers original cloth. Stated first published in April 1939. Price of $2.75 on dust jacket present. Four edges of dust jacket clipped, with minimal edge wear, otherwise fine. DJ in archival cover.
Add this copy of The Grapes of Wrath to cart. $6,900.00, very good condition, Sold by John K. King Used & Rare Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Detroit, MI, UNITED STATES, published 1939 by The Viking Press: NY.
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Very Good. 8.25 x 5.5", pict rough cloth, 619pp, a beautiful copy without markings or ink names, with just a little soiling at the intersection of the foredge and bottom edge, in a very bright, price-clipped dustjacket with just a hint of edge-wear, a small tear at the top of the front panel and some minor spots at the top of the back panel. FIRST EDITION ("First Published in April 1939") IN A FIRST EDITION DUSTJACKET. One of the nicest (if not THE nicest) copies we have ever seen.
Add this copy of The Grapes of Wrath to cart. $6,500.00, very good condition, Sold by Burnside Rare Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Portland, OR, UNITED STATES, published 1939 by The Viking Press.
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Seller's Description:
Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. First edition, first printing. Publisher's original oatmeal cloth decorated in brown, "Battle Hymn of the Republic" end sheets. Near Fine, with toning to pages, foxing and light soiling to text block edges, preliminary and terminal pages, and evidence of old tape burns to endsheets. In a Near Fine correct first printing dust jacket with publisher's price at upper corner clipped but rubber-stamped below, and "First Edition" statement present on front flap; light edge wear, light spine-toning, light foxing, and crease to rear panel, but on the whole a very nice example.
Add this copy of Grapes of Wrath to cart. $4,500.00, good condition, Sold by Heritage Book Shop, LLC rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Beverly Hills, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1939 by The Viking Press.
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Seller's Description:
New York: The Viking Press, [1939]. First edition, first issue with "First Published in April 1939" on copyright page and first edition notice on front flap of dust jacket. Octavo (8 x 5 3/8 inches; 203 x 137 mm). [vi], 619, [3, blank] pp. In publisher's dust jacket illustrated by Elmer Hader. Publisher's original beige cloth. Boards and spine pictorially stamped and lettered in reddish-brown. Top edge dyed yellow. Endpapers with a portion of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" printed in reddish-brown. Cloth spine just slightly sunned. Top edge with some dust soiling. Some minor toning to endpapers. Previous owner's old ink signature on front free endpaper, dated 1939. A very good copy. Jacket with "First Edition" slug on front flap and with the printed price of $2.75. Jacket edges a bit rubbed and flaky. Jacket with strengthening on backside, and some paper replacement along folds and at spine tips. Still overall a very good copy. This novel, about the trials and tribulations of the Joad family, forced to migrate from the Depression-era "dust-bowl" of Oklahoma to California. It was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1940, and remains one of the most beloved American novels of all time. Goldstone & Payne A12a. HBS 68515. $4, 500.
I am not an economist so I am not even going to try to understand the economic mess were are in as a nation ? but I cannot help but think about The Grapes of Wrath and the odyssey of the Joad family when I think about our current financial times. Massive debt. Budget shortages. Home foreclosures. Business failures. Bankruptcies. Job losses. In some ways I feel that we are all (well many of us) Joad?s now ? trapped in a financial system that we do not understand, trying to make a daily living, but always feeling that we are taking one step up and two back.
My favorite scene in The Grapes of Wrath was early in the book, when a tenant farmer is trying to stop his home and land from being plowed over by tractor-operator hired by the bank. This is a man he knows, a local, who has taken a job with the bank to gain a regular salary and some stability for his family. But, this stability comes with a huge price. His job is to repossess the land of his friends and neighbors and ready it to be turned over to the banks. How many of us would do the same? Life is a struggle and when money is tight we would do most anything to pay the bills and feed our own ? but where do we draw the lines? The tenant wants to shoot him ? but the man explains the truth ? it?s not him, not his fault ? it?s no one?s fault ? we are all ghosts in the money machine. This is a slice of that conversation:
"It's not me. There's nothing I can do. I'll lose my job if I don't do it. And look ? suppose you kill me? They'll just hang you, but long before your hung there will be another guy on the tractor, and he'll bump the house down. You're not killing the right guy."
"That's so," the tenant said. "Who gave you orders? I'll go after him. He's the one to kill."
"You're wrong. He got his orders from the bank. The bank told them: "Clear those people out or it's your job."
"Well, there's a president of the bank. There's a Board of Directors. I'll fill up the magazine of the rifle and go into the bank."
The driver said: "Fellow was telling me the bank gets orders from the East. The orders were: "Make the land show profit or we'll close you up."
"But where does it stop? Who can we shoot? I don't aim to starve to death before I kill the man that's starving me."
"I don't know. Maybe there's nobody to shoot. Maybe the thing isn't man at all. Maybe, like you said, the property's doing it. Anyway I told you my orders."
The financial machine we live inside often challenges our morality, our faith, our ethics in exchange for a paycheck. Think Glengarry Glen Ross, think sell or be fired, think it me or you and its not going to be me. So we take a nice long trip to Disney to forget all about it. Maybe we have a food drive at school ? help the less fortunate. How are we supposed to live? Is this really it? Work your butt off, get as much as you can, hoard as much as you can ? every man for himself. Really? The Joad?s are not bums, not lazy, not moochers. They are simple folk who want to work ? an honest days work for an honest days pay. But the fruit growers of this novel are the factories of Mexico, China, Vietnam, and every other ?third world? country that produces our clothes, shoes, food and products. They are in a race to the bottom ? pitted against one another for jobs ? always pushed to do more for less. Why? So we can buy three dollar T-shirts at Wal-Mart.
Don?t get me wrong ? I shop at Wal-Mart ? we all do ? we have to make our money stretch. We are all stuck. But can it change? As the tenant farmer went on to say:
"I got to figure," the tenant said. "We all got to figure. There's some way to stop this. It's not like lightning or earthquakes. We've got a bad thing made by men, and by God that's something we can change."
I think the beginning is within each of us - within me. We (I) made this mess ? we (I am) are part of this mess. We (I) can change it by waking up, beginning to care and changing how we (I) live, think and treat one another ? today. We (I) need to begin to want less, expect less and need less. This concept is antithetical in a society based on consumption ? but will help forge a world that is more humane and loving. It is time to withdraw from the ?Grand Illusion?, to unplug the television, cancel your (my) subscription to all your (my) magazines, especially - ?You?re Not Skinny Enough? Monthly, ?My House is Perfect ? What?s Up With Yours? Weekly and ?Look How Rich I Am? Daily ? shut it off ? go outside, appreciate what you have, love one another, seek God and be what he has commanded us to be in this life ? witnesses to his Word, not buyers of more garbage. As Americans we need to see ourselves for what we are ? from a global perspective ? we are the rich oppressors. Our want?s, needs, desires, and struggles impact the world. We need to heed the following:
?Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.? ? James 5: 1-6
Although The Grapes of Wrath is a story about the Great Depression, it is a story of our lives - today. Many in this nation are doing very well ? their houses keep getting bigger, their cars more expensive, their travel more extensive and their luxuries increase? but what about the rest. The Joad family represents ?the rest.? All those people who have been foreclosed upon; laid off ? forgotten. Where do they go? What do they do? Do we care?
This is not a political perspective ? politics do far more harm than good ? nothing has been changed through legislation. Problems such as this require a change of the heart. It requires us to look each other in the eye ? see one another as fellow humans ? a mother, father, husband, wife, sister, brother, son, or daughter ? not as a number or a servant. I believe that we as a nation will reap what we sow ? it is for us to decide what that will be. Our final reward will be contingent on how we treated the least among us ? every day. I am far from doing this ? my eyes are just opening to my personal greed, narcissism and selfishness ? but all change begins with the decision to change. What is your decision?
Ham777
Nov 11, 2010
Greatest American novel
This book startled me in a way that was totally unexpected.
I will remember the ending until I am old and senile and I'm convinced I will ever shiver at the recollection.
Pamela B
Aug 14, 2010
One of the best books ever written
This book will break your heart one moment and make you laugh out loud the next. Steinbecks characters are so real that they feel like people you know. A must read for everyone, especially those interested in American history.
heartkitty
Aug 14, 2009
Excellent!
I have always been a Steinbeck fan and I chose to give this book to my adult daughter to let her see how bad things were compared to today's economy. She so loved the book that she wants to read more of this writer's work.
keeni7
Jul 23, 2009
Ask questions
The Grapes of Wrath is a book everyone should read but this was a college study guide. Just afew pages long and I was expecting the full book. This was not in the book discription.
