John Steinbeck's first 3 books were published by firms that disappeared during The Great Depression. Publisher Pascal Covici discovered them and decided to publish John Steinbeck. Steinbeck stayed with Covici from the 1930s until Covici's death in 1964. Their author-editor relationship was enduring, intimate and important. This was the first publication of their correspondence. The 1979 hardcover edition was highly -- and very positively -- reviewed, including in "The New York Times" and is now considered a seminal book in Steinbeck scholarship.