John Steinbeck a 1955 movie directed by Elia Kazan and starring James Dean. In 1960, Steinbeck bought a pickup truck and had it modified with a custom-built camper top – which was rare at the time – and drove across the United States with his faithful 'blue' standard poodle, Charley. Steinbeck nicknamed his truck "Rocinante" after Don Quixote's "noble steed". In this sometimes comical, sometimes melancholic book, Steinbeck describes what he sees from Maine to Montana to California, and from there to Texas and Louisiana and back to his home on Long Island. The restored camper truck is on exhibit in the
John Bowe (author) Media Award for reportage of hunger- and poverty-related issues. John Bowe (author) John Bowe (born 1964 in Minnesota) is an American author. He is a contributing writer for "The New York Times". He has also written for "The New Yorker", "The American Prospect", "GQ", "McSweeney's", and "This American Life". He co-wrote the screenplay for the film "Basquiat" with Julian Schnabel. He graduated from Minneapolis' Blake School in 1982, obtained an honors BA in English from the University of Minnesota in 1987 and earned an MFA in film from the Columbia University School of the Arts in 1996. "Us: Americans Talk