The Grapes of Wrath book summary from the National Steinbeck Center

• The book received the 1939 National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize

John Steinbeck, 1962

Biography and Resources

John Steinbeck Biographical from NoblePrize.org

Go here for a longer Steinbeck biography from the National Steinbeck Center

10 Surprising Facts about John Steinbeck's Novel

John Steinbeck's 112th Birthday Google Doodle, February 27, 2014

Primary Sources

New York Times Book Review of the novel, April 16, 1939

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck Primary Source Set from Digital Public Library of America

Archival Vintages for the Grapes of Wrath from the National Archives

See also Banned Book Awareness: The Grapes of Wrath

Henry Fonda played Tom Joad in the movie

Multimedia Resources

Original Move Trailer (1940)


Grapes of Wrath is 75, but Its Depictions of Poverty are Timeless, NPR (April 14, 2014)

The Grapes of Wrath Book Covers: A Short History from the blog 101 Books

Dust Bowl, South Dakota, 1936

Lesson Plans for Teaching the Grapes of Wrath

Teaching Steinbeck and the Grapes of Wrath from the New York Times Learning Blog
has lesson plans on the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, Worker Rights and other related topics.

John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath: The Inner Chapters from the National Endowment from the Humanities

The Grapes of Wrath: Voices from the Great Depression from the Library of Congress


“Film Study of //The Grapes of Wrath//” from the Great Depression and the Arts from the New Deal Network

Historical Connections

Go here for historical background on the Great Depression from resourcesforhistoryteachers


The 1965-1970 Delano Grape Strike

• The Forgotten Filipinos Who Led a Farmworker Revolution
• Delano Grape Strike and Boycott from the United Farm Workers
• Against All Odds: Cesar Chavez and the Delano Grape Strike from the Cesar Chavez Foundation