The Pastures of Heaven (Bantam 899)

182 pp. "This novel has ben cited by some critics as the most representative of Steinbeck's versatile gifts. This simply-told story of a California community living in "a long valley floored with green pasturage," has all the liteary qualities which have made its author famous-the clear-cut characterization, the carefully detailed background, the incisive incident, the purposeful but unlabored pointing up of the inherent ironies in human hope and endeavor."