The Cabbie, “The Cab Driver Doesn’t Give a Hoot”
Steinbeck was sent to cover both Presidential nominating conventions during the 1956 election for the London Daily Mail. Part of his coverage was asking people on the street to identify which candidate they planned on voting for in the national election. One of those people was driver of a taxi he was riding in who pointedly refused to give any answer as a means of protecting his tip. Ultimately, he does render a judgment: all politicians are crooks.
Joan of Arc, “The Joan in All of Us”
Joan is front and center in this essay as an emblematic symbol of the universal desire to break the rules and succeed in making a difference in the world. She is characterized as a figure that every writer is drawn to as a potential subject for one distinct reason: her story could not possibly be true and yet it is.
Ed Ricketts, “About Ed Ricketts”
This essay was written as commemoration of one of Steinbeck’s best friends following his tragic death as a result of what happens when a speeding locomotive collides with a stalled Buick. It a tribute to the life of a man who was a close personal friend that readers knew in fictionalized form as Doc in Cannery Row. Ricketts’ laboratory in Monterey was also the site where a real-life incident stimulated the creepily symbolic short story “The Snake.”
Alicia Guggenheim, “Letters to Alicia”
The plural refers to the fact that Steinbeck wrote more than eighty of these “letters” which were published as essays in Newsday between 1965 and 1968. The strange thing is that the person to whom each letter is addressed was the former editor of Newsday. And she was the former editor because she died in 1963. The series comprises Steinbeck's ponderings, musing, examinations and opinions on a wide and ever-changing variety of topics.
Signor Bassano, “Positano”
On advice from friends, Steinbeck and his wife get out of the heat of Rome to travel to the small fishing village on the coast, Positano. Steinbeck hired a driver based on his card reading “Signor Bassani Bassano, Experienced Guide – all Italy – and Throughout Europe.” Bassano proves capable of speeding in excess of 100 kilometers an hour while at the same time turning around to conduct a conversation punctuated with elaborate hand gestures. The ride nearly gets them killed. Steinbeck officially recommends Bassano to future visitors with the caveat that though they may not actually hear much of what he says, they will most assuredly avoid being bored.
