The Log from the Sea of Cortez Publisher: Penguin Classics; Reprint edition

by John Steinbeck

Paperback

Published January 1, 1994

About the author

John Ernst Steinbeck was an American writer. He won the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social perception". He has been called "a giant of American letters."
During his writing career, he authored 33 books, with one book coauthored alongside Edward F. Ricketts, including 16 novels, six non-fiction books, and two collections of short stories. He is widely known for the comic novels Tortilla Flat (1935) and Cannery Row (1945), the multi-generation epic East of Eden (1952), and the novellas The Red Pony (1933) and Of Mice and Men (1937). The Pulitzer Prize–winning The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is considered Steinbeck's masterpiece and part of the American literary canon. By the 75th anniversary of its publishing date, it had sold 14 million copies.
Most of Steinbeck's work is set in central California, particularly in the Salinas Valley and the California Coast Ranges region. His works frequently explored the themes of fate and injustice, especially as applied to downtrodden or everyman protagonists.

Reviews

[Francisco Vazquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an OK book
It should be accompanied by graphs of the species Steinbeck describes. I believe such a companion exists.
The book is at its weakest when Steinbeck tries to philosophize.
Recommended

[John Ratliffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never been an avid reader of Steinbeck, but that is about to change. I found this book to be highly interesting, because one, it starts in Monterey, two, it describes an exotic, far-away place and time that is rarely known, The Sea of Cortez, aka Gulf of California; and three, it narrates a story of a fascinating adventure that would fulfill a wonderful male-bonding fantasy.

This book is not for everyone, as there is an avalanche of biological terms given for the thousands of tidal salt water specimens gathered (you won’t remember them), and there are several digressions into short philosophical essays, though very readable, seem a little out of place. But it is helpful to remember that one of his intentions is to show the interconnectedness of all life from amoeba to sapiens, while adding to the ecological body of knowledge about tidal sea life.

This book was recommended by a friend, but I also had some personal motivation to read it as I spent a year at the Presidio of Monterey, which lies just up the hill from the now famous, and now restored, Cannery Row and the village of Pacific Grove where Steinbeck spent a lot of time. I also was once included in a deep-sea fishing trip out of Cabo San Lucas, a trip which gave me a new appreciation of the richness of the sea life in those waters. But it was especially interesting to read the accounts of encounters with the poor denizens of the primitive Baja and to compare that with the destruction of its beauty brought about by tourism dollars and modern condo and resort development.

The tale is presented as diary entries covering the day-by-day gathering of tidal sea life specimens for biological and ecological research. Once entering the Sea of Cortez, the expedition continued towards the northern end up the west side, with frequent anchoring, and then back down the eastern side stopping at Guaymas, which was at the time the most advanced town or city along those coasts.

And finally, the book is a detailed and loving tribute to Steinbeck’s friend and buddy, Ed Ricketts, a biologist with an unforgettable lifestyle and a quirky personality. In the end one comes away with new appreciation for Steinbeck, which I intend to follow up on.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars because it's Steinbeck, and because it does have its moments (though few and far between), but anyone else it would be one star, or barely two. Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors, and he has been so since I was a kid. His fiction, even his travel narrative with his doggo, are among my favorite works ever, fiction or otherwise. But I had never tackled this one. I'm not exactly sure why, but I finally decided that needed to be remedied. I should have gone with my gut and continued to avoid this. I know well Steinbeck the man. His beliefs, his opinions. Long ago I understood what he was about. But this?...it's excruciating. His "philosophical" ramblings here are little more than stream-of-consciousness claptrap, pedantic, and, as my west Texas rancher (and once upon a time roughneck) grandfather would have said, "all hat, no cattle." Momentarily setting aside the fact that Steinbeck really had no business going on such a journey to begin with, he has even less business going off on long-winded diatribes and musings on things that have absolutely nothing to do with the point and purpose of his journey. Perhaps he is at his most honest when he's boasting about how much sea life this crew was killing on a daily basis. Other than that, going into this hoping for a journal somewhere in the ballpark of a more biology-rooted equivalent of Thor Heyerdahl's "Kon-Tiki" (to the brainiacs out there, I realize that it is not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison), I left sorely disappointed, having to force myself to finish it. There are beautiful moments when Steinbeck describes what the scenes and sea life they experienced. As a life-long waterman, surfer, free-diver, spearfisherman, deep-sea fisherman, I enjoy such works, glimpses of what was, what has been lost, etc. Don James' "Surfing San Onofre to Point Dume" collection of photographs does this beautifully. It transcends surfing. But Steinbeck largely fails to do the one thing one would think this book would do. Instead, it becomes an exercise in futility. I reluctantly say skip this one. It's just not worth it. And, there is far better Steinbeck out there, if you're looking to get a glimpse into the man and his experiences. Otherwise, just stick to his fiction.