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1. East of Eden -- John Steinbeck
   Based on John Steinbeck's novel and directed by Elia Kazan, East of Eden is the first of three major films that make up James Dean's movie legacy. The 24-year-old idol-to-be plays Cal, a wayward Salinas Valley youth who vies for the affection of his hardened father with his favored brother Aron. Playing off the haunting sensitivity of Julie Harris, Dean's performance earned one of the film's four Academy Award 'nominations'. Among the movie's stellar performances, Jo Van Fleet won the Oscar as Best Supporting Actress.
2. The Grapes of Wrath -- John Steinbeck
   The Grapes of Wrath is literature, poetry, history and politics. At the most basic level, it is the story of a family's migration westward during the Depression in the U.S. The story is poignant and moving, the characters are well developed, the dialogue is realistic and the descriptions of the scenery and action are vivid. By interspersing chapters that aren't part of the Joad family story but are instead insights into the general environment in which the story takes place, Steinbeck takes the book to a higher level. These chapters are written in a poetic cadence and they build on each other and ultimately culminate in the passage that is the source of the title of the book. There is ... a lot of religious symbolism in the story that is interesting and powerful. The book gives an insight into an important aspect of American history but also can be considered a piece of history itself, as it was extremely influential when it was first published.
3. Dust Bowl -- John Steinbeck
   Prepared by the Weather Channel, the brief section on the Dust Bowl originally aired on the Weather Channel. It apparently relied on Vance Johnson's Heaven's Tableland for research: it ... places the April 14 Black Sunday storm in 1934, which confuses the chronology of the era.
4. John Garfield
   John Garfield was born Jacob Julius Garfinkle on the 4th March 1913 in New York, US. the son of poor Jewish immigrants from New York's Lower-East-Side ghettos. Poverty was the norm there, and life was tough. Young Garfield's juvenile delinquent tendencies landed him in a special school for problem children. Still, it was almost inevitable that he would get involved with neighborhood street gangs. He may have remained on those streets struggling to survive, had Garfield not had a special gift for debate, a talent that won him a state-wide contest sponsored by the New York Times.
5. John Ford -- Director John Ford
   Before going independent, John Ford was one of the most acclaimed directors of classic studio era. He shared the rebelliousness of the independent producers, and had a reputation for mistreating the producers he worked with in Hollywood. He began making inroads to independent production in the 1930s. King Kong (1933) producer Merian C. Cooper left RKO in 1934 to form Pioneer Pictures to specialize in the experimental Technicolor film process, and convinced Ford to join the new independent company. Ford used his own money to purchase stories and acquire properties that later become important films for him, including two magazine stories “The Quiet Man” and “Stage to Lordsberg.”
6. John Sayles -- Latin America
   Synopsis: Celebrated writer and director John Sayles turns his eye to politics in America in this drama. The son of respected Colorado politician Senator Jud Pilager (Michael Murphy), Dicky Pilager (Read More
7. Abercrombie -- John Abercrombie
   Abercrombie's touring trio with Mark Johnson and Peter Erskine is heard on Current Events, Getting There (with frequent guest Michael Brecker) and John Abercrombie/Marc Johnson/Peter Erskine. to the point where its sixth-sense interactions create a singleness of vision associated only with Olympian ensembles such as the trios of pianists Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson". On Current Events, released in 1988, John used guitar synthesizer for the first time on record. John Abercrombie/Marc Johnson/Peter Erskine, released in 1989, was recorded in Boston on April 21, 1988 and documents this innovative trio, live. Repertoire from their four-year association is presented, and standards often linked with Bill Evans are given resplendent treatment. On the 1990 release Animato, John collaborates with composer/synthesist, Vince Mendoza and drummer John Christenesen, and presents eight original compositions.
8. Banned Books -- Challenges
   Books are still challenged and banned in the United States and around the world. Books lke Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye," John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," and Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" are still among the most frequently challenged books, but other books have been repressed on political, social, or sexual grounds.
9. Dust Bowl -- Woody Guthrie
   Oklahoma-born song writer Woody Guthrie wrote several ballads about the plight of the Dust Bowl refugees. In "Do Re Mi" he offered an unheeded warning about the unfulfilled promises of the Golden State:
10. James Dean -- Cal Trask
    James Dean, born at the Seven Gables apartment house in Marion, Indiana, was the only child of Winton and Mildred Dean. Shortly after James was born, his father, who had left farming to become a dental technician, moved the family 10 miles south to Fairmount, Indiana, where they lived for the next four and a half years. In 1935 Dean's family relocated to Santa Monica, California.

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