On This Day (Dec 10th) In 1962, John Steinbeck

"One of my all time favs."

To my taste he was the greatest - and most lovable - of that incredible generation of writers whose prime fell in the 1920-1950 era -- Fitzgerald, Lewis, Hemingway, Faulkner, Buck, Dos Passos. Upton Sinclair was active in that era, too, but some of his best works came before 1920.

Steinbeck was also a literary man for all seasons, with humorous works like "Cannery Row," and "Tortilla Flat," gentle romances like "Sweet Thursday," works of social conscience like "The Grapes of Wrath," "In Dubious Battle," and others, including parts of "Travels With Charley," and wonderful character studies in "East of Eden" and "Of Mice and Men," along with a stirring paean to patriotism in "The Moon is Down."

Thanks to his interest and training in marine biology, his "Log of the Sea of Cortez" is one of the most entertaining non-fiction/scientific works ever penned by a great novelist.