I just re-read Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. It was quite an experience.

[Jackpine Radical]

I'm sure it was at least 50 years since the last time I read it, and it sorta blew me away on re-reading. I was amazed at how much the economic environment of the 30's was "a distant mirror" (to steal a phrase from Barbara Tuchman) for the present.

There is so much in it--if you haven't read it for a while, I think you'll be well-rewarded if you pick it up again. I certainly feel that was the case for me. It certainly reverberates to the themes of this group.

[Warpy]

1. Yes, it had a great deal to say about corporate bankers

who were assisting Con Agra in the biggest land grab in history.

Another one to reread is Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle." It has a lot to say about bankers and creative financing mortgages.

The scumbags keep going back to the same old scams, time and again, as soon as they can pay off enough Congressmen to get rid of the regulations that stopped the abuse.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. I re-read it just a few years ago.

It is too close to home today.....
big business running over the working people and putting them out of business....
machination taking all the labor jobs that many people made a living at....
the wealthy blaming the poor for being poor....
the meme of the poor being lazy....
people who were doing ok, surviving, who are now homeless and hungry.

The parallels were eerie. As they say: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[BillZBubb]

3. Truly great book. Always worth reading.

The one of the many things in it that has always stuck with me from TGoW is the story Tom Joad told about asking a wealthy farmer who were all these "Communists" he was yelling about. The farmer replied (I'm paraphrasing from memory) "If I'm offering 10 cents an hour pay and some bastard wants 15 cents, he's a Communist".

Every time I hear a right winger ranting about Socialists, I always think of that.

[RufusTFirefly]

4. Great book! Now try "In Dubious Battle"

The least well-known of Steinbeck's major novels ("Grapes" and "East of Eden" are the other two), it's about the confrontations that occur when migrant fruit pickers go on strike. A powerful story.

I hated Steinbeck when some of his smaller books were shoved down my throat as a teenager. Now, I love his books, especially "East of Eden," "In Dubious Battle," "Grapes of Wrath," and "Cannery Row." The last isn't nearly as fluffy as it seems. It's actually an ecological study of sorts. Inspired by his dear friend, legendary marine biologist Ed Ricketts, Steinbeck sought to portray the interactions and dependencies of the Cannery's denizens as analogues to the varied creatures in a Pacific tidal pool.

[angstlessk]

5. I have audible...if someone who wants the audible book

contact me and tell me why you need the audible book

[grahamhgreen]

6. Did you know...

Jack Straw by the Grateful Dead is loosely based on the book?