American Writers (One Hundred Pages at a Time)

In "The Great C", Philip K. Dick explores a post-war world where humans sacrifice their young to a super computer. But other than that, it seems like a nice society.

John Steinbeck takes on class war in his wonderful novel In Dubious Battle.

Something a little bit different. How did Philip K. Dick see history? Is history eternal return or are we destined for a final frontier?

Part two of my survey and review of Tortilla Flat. Back in Taiwan!

In this episode we meet the paisanos of Montery as we look at Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat.

In this episode of the Philip K. Dick Book Club we look at urban planning and suburbia in "The Commuter". (This story will be adapted in Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams)

My thoughts on "Out in the Garden," one of Dick's earliest essays on the broken American family. It will not be his last. A fun fantasy story.

Part two of my reading of "To a God Unknown," an underappreciated novel by John Steinbeck. Let me know what you thought of this novel, if any of you have read it.

And we are back to looking at Dick's early short stories. In this episode on "The Cosmic Poachers", we get an alien tale with the most banal invasion strategy.

In this episode we take a look at the quitessential American rural mystic in John Steinbeck's underappreciated To a God Unknown.