Renaissance Man of Cannery Row: The Life and Letters of Edward F. Ricketts

by Edward F. Ricketts, Katharine A. Rodger (Editor)

This portrait of one of John Steinbeck's closest friends illuminates the life and work of a figure central to the development of scientific and literary thought in the 20th century. Marine biologist Edward F. Ricketts is perhaps best known as the inspiration for John Steinbeck's most empathic literary characters Doc in Cannery Row , Slim in Of Mice and Men , Jim Casy in The Grapes of Wrath , and Lee in East of Eden . The correspondence of this accomplished scientist, writer, and philosopher reveals the influential exchange of ideas he shared with such prominent thinkers and artists as Henry Miller, Joseph Campbell, Ellwood Graham, and James Fitzgerald, in addition to Steinbeck, all of whom were drawn to Ricketts's Monterey Bay laboratory, a haven of intellectual discourse and Bohemian culture in the 1930s and 1940s. The 125 previously unpublished letters of this collection, housed at the Stanford University Library, document the broad range of Ricketts's interests and accomplishments during the last 12 and most productive years of his life. His handbook on Pacific marine life, Between Pacific Tides , is still in print, now in its fifth edition. The biologist's devotion to ecological conservation and his evolving philosophy of science as a cross-disciplinary, holistic pursuit led to the publication of The Sea of Cortez . Many of Ricketts's letters discuss his studies of the Pacific littoral and his theories of “phalanx” and transcendence. Epistles to family members, often tender and humorous, add dimension and depth to Steinbeck's mythologized depictions of Ricketts. Katharine A. Rodger has enriched the correspondence with an introductory biographical essay and a list of works cited.

344 pages, Hardcover

First published September 11, 2002

Reviews

[Sylvia Seymour · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been avoiding reading the last few pages of this intoxicating look into the mind of one of America's greatest thinkers, because I don't want it to end. It's that good.

[Justwin Nesianiono · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love everything about this guy and his friends.

[Susan Eubank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here are the questions discussed at the Reading the Western Landscape Community Book Discussion on January 24, 2024:

Ice breaker: Tell us about letters you have written at some point in your life. (Emails, voice mails, or texts are o.k. too.)

What do you think of the world he lived in? And how this time was portrayed in his letters?
What did you learn about this time period, that you didn't know before from these letters?
What do Ricketts letters tell us about a progression of a life in general?
What do you think the editor's reasons were for selecting particular letters? What do you think she left unpublished?
How did beer, wine, etc., etc., fit into Ricketts' life? Music? Art?
Which of his obsessions did you like best? Why?
What did you think of his friends?
What is your favorite letter? Why?
How did the order of the letters fits into the book? Was there a feeling about progression beyond purely chronological? Why?
Favorite line, image or passage?

[Jedemi]

Want to know the story behind the story? This is one of several about the Pacific Grove / Monterey gang.