Steinbeck was never satisfied in his career only as a writer, and thus picked up many other jobs over the course of time. In the late 1930's, Steinbeck entered California's working laborer class, developing a background for upcoming novels. Steinbeck then based three powerful novels on his experiences. The three novels published at this point in Steinbeck's career were In Dubious Battle (1936), Of Mice and Men (1937), and his ever-famous The Grapes of Wrath (1939). After the best-selling success of The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck went to Mexico to collect marine life with the freelance biologist Edward F. Ricketts, and satisfy his growing urge for knowledge. In the early 1940's, Steinbeck again changed path, becoming a filmmaker with The Forgotten Village (1941). Next, Steinbeck devoted his writings toward the war, writing Bombs Away (1942), and The Moon is Dawn (1942). Also During World War II, Steinbeck worked as a war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune. The next series of writing from Steinbeck were: Cannery Row (1945), The Wayward Bus (1947), The Pearl (1947), A Russian Journal (1948), Burning Bright (1950), and The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951). The next highly successful novel from Steinbeck since Tortilla Flat encased the saga of the Salinas Valley and much of his own family's history. This novel was titled East of Eden and published in 1952. .
The following years of Steinbeck's life were spent in New York City and Sag Harbor with his third wife, with whom he adored and traveled with frequently. Steinbeck's later publications include Sweet Thursday (1954), The Sort Reign of Pippin IV: A Fabrication (1957), Once There Was a War (1958), The Winter of Our Discontent (1961), Travels with Charley in Search of America (1962), America and Americans (1966), Journal of Novel: The East of Eden Letters (1969), Viva Zapata! Published 1975 The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights published in 1976 and finally Working Days: The Journal of The Grapes of Wrath published in 1989.
