Books

NY, Brewer, Warren & Putnam, 1932, first edition, dust jacket. Hardcover.. With a first issue dust jacket, his second book, Goldstone & Payne A2a, Morrow 14, this first edition is one of only 1,650 copies actually bound (from a print-run of 2,500 sets of sheets), only a paltry 650 copies were actually sold, this was his first book with what could be called the Steinbeck "sound," the book is comprised of inter-related stories set in a valley that came to represent Steinbeck Country, in these stories something is not quite right with the inhabitants of this otherwise peaceful valley, according to Harry Thornton Moore in his first critical study of Steinbeck's works, The Pastures of Heaven "is the most popular of Steinbeck's three early books. It points the way to most of his subsequent writing," this example of a short story cycle may well be Steinbeck's finest work, scarce when found with the correct dust jacket, those jackets that are noted as 2 mm shorter than the book are…

The Pastures of Heaven is a collection of interconnected stories about the inhabitants of a fertile valley in California, which is discovered by a Spanish corporal while chasing runaway Indian slaves. First published in 1932, this work by John Steinbeck deals with themes of community, isolation, and the struggle of individuals.