John Steinbeck IV
Encyclopedia
John Steinbeck IV was an American journalist and author. He was the second child of the Nobel Prize
-winning author, John Steinbeck
. In 1965, he was drafted into the United States Army
and served in Vietnam
. He worked as a journalist
for Armed Forces Radio and TV, and a war correspondent for the United States Department of Defense
.
as a journalist. Along with Sean Flynn
(son of actor Errol Flynn
), he started Dispatch News Service
, which originally published the story on the My Lai Massacre
by Seymour Hersh
. Fluent in street Vietnamese, Flynn and Steinbeck quickly became independent of the flow of information dispensed by the United States Press Office. Hence, they were the first to disclose the truth about the My Lai Massacre and the Con Son Island prison "tiger cages". Flynn disappeared in Cambodia
on a photo shoot.
Steinbeck's Vietnam memoir In Touch was published by Knopf
in 1969. He wrote about his experiences with the Vietnamese, the GIs and his interlude with that culture. Steinbeck took the vows of a Buddhist monk while living on Phoenix Island in the middle of the Mekong Delta
, under the tutelage of the politically powerful Coconut Monk, a silent tree-dwelling Buddhist yogi
who adopted Steinbeck as a spiritual son. Steinbeck stayed in the "peace zone" created by the monk in the midst of the raging war, where howitzer
shells were hammered into bells by the 400 monks who lived on the island.
Steinbeck traveled back and forth between Asia and the United States several more times before settling in Boulder, Colorado
where he studied Tibetan Buddhism
with Chögyam Trungpa
. On March 6, 1982, he married Nancy Harper, who had two children from a previous marriage. Steinbeck already had one child when they met. In 1983, the family traveled around the world for a year, living in Kathmandu in order to further their Buddhist studies. Although John and Nancy divorced in 1989 due to his alcoholism, they continued to live together until the day he died.
In 1984, Steinbeck was diagnosed with hemochromatosis, a genetic disease that causes iron retention in the organs. Steinbeck got sober in 1988 after years of heavy drinking. He became very interested in the genetic aspects of alcoholism, and was a participant in 12 Step programs.
It was Steinbeck who broke the story of Ösel Tendzin
's AIDS to the Boulder press. Subsequently he renewed his journalistic career, writing articles about their travels with the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism, alcoholism and the toll it takes on loved ones. In 1990, he began his autobiography with this statement:
"The reasons for attempting to write this book could be summed up simply by my desire to live free from fear. However, the path leading to that sort of fruition has, along its border, a lot of fearful things that at first glance can cause panic, or resentment, or shame. There is also charity and sanity, which accompany this sort of voyage like good dolphins on a good quest. Frankly, I feel blessed that these guiding elements have never abandoned me and, as I and others continue to recover from the effects of my actions, I am encouraged that these qualities will endure, even shine."
In 1990, Steinbeck was diagnosed with a ruptured disc. He underwent corrective surgery on February 7, 1991, and died immediately after the operation. In 2001, his posthumous memoir, The Other Side of Eden was published by Prometheus Books. The book jacket states "Left unfinished at his untimely death, this testament to his life is here reconstructed by Nancy Steinbeck
. Interweaving her own reminiscences of her life with John Steinbeck IV, Nancy has created an engrossing account from two perspectives: John's memories of his chaotic and adventurous upbringing and her own thoughts on their journey together to make a new life apart from the long shadow of a famous father and a troubled past." The book is co-distributed by Hazelden, America's foremost treatment center for drug and alcohol addiction.
Publisher's Weekly said "More than a memoir, this is a powerful account of healing and liberation. This book can help many people."
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
-winning author, John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
. In 1965, he was drafted into the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and served in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. He worked as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
for Armed Forces Radio and TV, and a war correspondent for the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
.
Biography
In 1968, Steinbeck returned to VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
as a journalist. Along with Sean Flynn
Sean Flynn
Sean Leslie Flynn was an American actor and freelance photojournalist best known for his coverage of the Vietnam War. He started a news service in Saigon with John Steinbeck IV, son of the American author.Flynn was the only child of the marriage of Errol Flynn and Lili Damita...
(son of actor Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
), he started Dispatch News Service
Dispatch News Service
Dispatch News Service is a left-leaning news agency founded in 1968 by David Obst and Michael Morrow.DNS was the original outlet to purchase Seymour Hersh's story about the My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War, pushing it on 35 newspapers at $100 apiece....
, which originally published the story on the My Lai Massacre
My Lai Massacre
The My Lai Massacre was the Vietnam War mass murder of 347–504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968, by United States Army soldiers of "Charlie" Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the Americal Division. Most of the victims were women, children , and...
by Seymour Hersh
Seymour Hersh
Seymour Myron Hersh is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author based in Washington, D.C. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine on military and security matters...
. Fluent in street Vietnamese, Flynn and Steinbeck quickly became independent of the flow of information dispensed by the United States Press Office. Hence, they were the first to disclose the truth about the My Lai Massacre and the Con Son Island prison "tiger cages". Flynn disappeared in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
on a photo shoot.
Steinbeck's Vietnam memoir In Touch was published by Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
in 1969. He wrote about his experiences with the Vietnamese, the GIs and his interlude with that culture. Steinbeck took the vows of a Buddhist monk while living on Phoenix Island in the middle of the Mekong Delta
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
, under the tutelage of the politically powerful Coconut Monk, a silent tree-dwelling Buddhist yogi
Yogi
A Yogi is a practitioner of Yoga. The word is also used to refer to ascetic practitioners of meditation in a number of South Asian Religions including Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.-Etymology:...
who adopted Steinbeck as a spiritual son. Steinbeck stayed in the "peace zone" created by the monk in the midst of the raging war, where howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
shells were hammered into bells by the 400 monks who lived on the island.
Steinbeck traveled back and forth between Asia and the United States several more times before settling in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
where he studied Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
with Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche was a Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages, the eleventh Trungpa tülku, a tertön, supreme abbot of the Surmang monasteries, scholar, teacher, poet, artist, and originator of a radical re-presentation of Shambhala vision.Recognized...
. On March 6, 1982, he married Nancy Harper, who had two children from a previous marriage. Steinbeck already had one child when they met. In 1983, the family traveled around the world for a year, living in Kathmandu in order to further their Buddhist studies. Although John and Nancy divorced in 1989 due to his alcoholism, they continued to live together until the day he died.
In 1984, Steinbeck was diagnosed with hemochromatosis, a genetic disease that causes iron retention in the organs. Steinbeck got sober in 1988 after years of heavy drinking. He became very interested in the genetic aspects of alcoholism, and was a participant in 12 Step programs.
It was Steinbeck who broke the story of Ösel Tendzin
Ösel Tendzin
Ösel Tendzin was a western Buddhist. He was Chögyam Trungpa's principal student. On August 22, 1976, Chögyam Trungpa empowered Ösel Tendzin as his Vajra Regent and first Western lineage holder in the Tibetan Karma Kagyü and Nyingma lineages. On August 25, 1990, Ösel Tendzin died in San Francisco,...
's AIDS to the Boulder press. Subsequently he renewed his journalistic career, writing articles about their travels with the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism, alcoholism and the toll it takes on loved ones. In 1990, he began his autobiography with this statement:
"The reasons for attempting to write this book could be summed up simply by my desire to live free from fear. However, the path leading to that sort of fruition has, along its border, a lot of fearful things that at first glance can cause panic, or resentment, or shame. There is also charity and sanity, which accompany this sort of voyage like good dolphins on a good quest. Frankly, I feel blessed that these guiding elements have never abandoned me and, as I and others continue to recover from the effects of my actions, I am encouraged that these qualities will endure, even shine."
In 1990, Steinbeck was diagnosed with a ruptured disc. He underwent corrective surgery on February 7, 1991, and died immediately after the operation. In 2001, his posthumous memoir, The Other Side of Eden was published by Prometheus Books. The book jacket states "Left unfinished at his untimely death, this testament to his life is here reconstructed by Nancy Steinbeck
Nancy Steinbeck
Nancy Steinbeck is the co-author of the dual memoir The Other Side of Eden which includes the posthumous autobiography of John Steinbeck IV, son of the beloved American author. Writer Magazine named the it among the top ten books for 2001....
. Interweaving her own reminiscences of her life with John Steinbeck IV, Nancy has created an engrossing account from two perspectives: John's memories of his chaotic and adventurous upbringing and her own thoughts on their journey together to make a new life apart from the long shadow of a famous father and a troubled past." The book is co-distributed by Hazelden, America's foremost treatment center for drug and alcohol addiction.
Publisher's Weekly said "More than a memoir, this is a powerful account of healing and liberation. This book can help many people."
External links
- John Steinbeck IV and Nancy Steinbeck's website Permission to reprint given by copyright holder, Nancy Steinbeck.