steinbeck wrote so many awesome books.e was radical in some early books, "in dubious battle" was about communist organizing. men," "east of eden," powerful contributions to american literature. i think if you do a quick reading of "the grapes of wrath," you don't really profit as much as going back, rereading it, maybe watching the film in between. it's powerful in terms of his spirituality. it was thought by some people to be a track for socialism. eleanor roosevelt, immediately after she read it here in washington, d.c., said it was a profoundly urgent and spiritual and pro-american book. on that note, i would like to quote bono, the singer, he recently had an album in which he had one song called "the american soul," and in a recent interview he said, "the irish people are wonderful people and france and great britain are great countries, but they are not an idea. america, he says, is an idea. that is why we become obnoxious and boisterous about when you don't succeed." "the rest of the world," bono is saying -- and i t

steinbeck wrote so many awesome books.e was radical in some early books, "in dubious battle" was --ut eight communism organ communist thing. but he has made powerful contributions to american literature. he had a writing ability, i think if you do a quick reading of "grapes of wrath" you don't profit from it as much as going back and rereading it, maybe watching the film in between and going back to it. it is powerful in terms of its spirituality. it was thought by some people to be a contract for socialism. eleanor roosevelt immediately after she read it here in washington, d.c. said it was a profoundly urgent and spiritual and pro-american book. on that note, i would like to quote bono the singer, he recently had an album in which he had one song called "the american soul," and in a recent interview with rolling stone magazine he said, "the irish people are wonderful people and fans in great britain are wonderful, but they are not an idea. america is an idea. he said -- that is why we have become obnoxious and boisterous

in many cases, which steinbeck book to use?hink her second book talks about politics better than her first book, even though it was not a literary success. a lot of great books i had to say no to. brian: i want to go way back to the 1960's. you came to this town as a white house fellow. what were you doing at the time and what impact did the white house fellowship have on your career? tom: a good question. i first came in 1963 as an intern for a republican senator he was a threes, u.s.governor, three term senator from massachusetts, wonderful man. i was an intern for a lengthy summer for him in 1963. i came back in 1966 as a white house fellow in the west wing. was a fantastic opportunity. i was a graduate's -- graduate student at stanford and studying a look opinion polls and voting analysis and city governments and all of a sudden i was thrown into what i jokingly call the original lbj school of politics. i learned a normal sleep. that program and similar are invaluable. it encourages people to think differently and ask fresh

that includes john steinbeck east of eden. and what is the biblical influence. we have our display set up. were putting on a selection of books and showing titles that draw upon typical expressions. is drawn on genesis four verse six in the story of cain and abel. and in the bible you have god sending cain out to the east and banishing them after sort of breaking the code of conduct. in killing his brother. steinbach in his total narrative is drawn on this novel of a good and evil. the struggle between brothers that are trying to please their father and so he is able to pick up on this title to give it some extra meaning. the sun also rises. let me pass on that one for a moment. a time to love and a time to die. that title of polling from ecclesiastes. it's a deeply meaningful book because it starts out with vanity in the struggle of fighting where we find meeting and life in a life so full of turmoil. you have this quote. a time to be born and a time to die. looking back on this experience. all you see around you is carnage. they are finding coming back and rek