The Other Side of Eden: Life with John Steinbeck

by Nancy Steinbeck, John Steinbeck IV, John Steinbeck

As the son of a celebrated literary icon, John Steinbeck IV grew up in a privileged world peopled by the literati and the intellectual elite. Sadly, it was also a world of alcoholism, bitter divorce,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573928585
• ISBN13: 9781573928588
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

interesting book

This is a great book about Steinbeck IV. I found his account of his father's visit to Vietnam fascinating - truly moving account of father and son while the VC are [perhaps] stealthily moving in the night. Steinbeck IV served with AFNN in Vietnam - though not at the Saigon HQ where Airman Adrian Cronauer [played by Robin Williams in the movie Good Morning Vietnam] was. Bob Morecook AFVN News 72/73

This book is a saga...NOT BORING!!!

I'm reading this book in conjuction with Oprah's book club choice, East of Eden. I just had to respond to the person below who called the book boring, because I cannot put it down! People who drink alcholically are not weak minded, as the poster states. If self control could stop an addict, there would be no need for treatment centers and 12 Step programs. I found the story of recovery which weaves its way through John and Nancy Steinbeck's marriage to be tremendously inspiring and uplifting.And I'm glad there's more to the book than an expose of Steinbeck's shadow side. This is an epic page turner which runs the gamut from the Steinbecks involvement with Beatniks, Hippies, Tibetan Buddhism, Viet Nam Vets, Anti-war protests, Recovery, New Age gurus; it's truly a chronical for any baby boomer to find something that resonates in their own mythology.The book has also helped readers on the Oprah Book Club board understand the psychological dynamics amongst the characters of East of Eden, as played out in the real lives of Steinbeck's sons. I love this book.

Haunting and revealing

This biography of life with John Steinbeck is written by his son, who grew up in a privileged world of the intellectual elite, but one laden with abuse and estrangement. His memoir ended with his life and here is reconstructed by his wife of twelve years who adds her own insights to full out the life of John Steinbeck. Haunting and revealing.

Why this book angers some people

I loved this book. It brought up so many raw emotions for me, that I was sometimes haunted for days after reading a few chapters. For anyone whose life has been touched by the disease of alcoholism, it is a source of great insight, grounded in honesty and the willingness to courageously tear back the curtain to show the dark side of a famous family. The Steinbecks have been accused of writing "fantasies" about the great man by critics who claim to know more than family members. Incidents such as Steinbeck Sr. pushing his wife down the stairs in order to abort their child, or allowing John Jr. to fall on his face when told to jump into his father's arms are discredited as lies by people who have only studied the sanitized and authorized biographies and collections of letters. I met recently met Nancy Steinbeck at a booksigning. I went because I wanted to talk to her about the way alcoholism has affected my family. She confirmed that although she had to divorce her husband because of his drinking and her fear of being held legally responsible for his accidents or debts, they legally established a commonlaw marriage and she continues to receive Steinbeck's royalty payments which she inherited from her husband. I found the book to be a loving tribute to a difficult but enormously creative and fascinating husband who was plagued by serious addictions. Hazelden Foundation, the foremost treatment center in the country, has endorsed The Other Side of Eden as the story of a journey of victory over the disease of alcoholism and codependency. Anyone who is familiar with alcoholism knows that the way John Jr. died, with three years of sobriety, is a triumph and a cause for celebration.This book is a Rorschach test for the reader. If you are committed to the sanitized version of Steinbeck that appears in the authorized biographies, if you are disturbed by any form of icoloclasm (witness Joyce Maynard's crucifiction for writing about Salinger) then this book will, indeed, upset your fantasy world and rattle your cage. If you are ready to take a ride of transformation and raw honesty, read the book. It is, as Andrew Harvey claims in his powerful introduction, one of the most unique biographies of the century. I admire both John Jr. and Nancy Steinbeck for having the courage and commitment to tell their story for the sake of history and in service to others whose lives have been devastated by substance abuse. And, judging from the cover blurb by a Steinbeck scholar, I daresay most academics are appreciative that this story will be part of Steinbeck Sr's archives. There is a saying in the 12 step program: You Are As Sick as Your Secrets. The Steinbecks broke the silence of keeping family secrets, and that's a huge accomplishment. Let the groupie scholars who make a living on propagating the Myth of the Great Writer worry about whether their academic myopia will result in their own lack of credibility. Anyone who earns money glorifying the exaulted sid