"In 1968, Jackson J. Benson, then a naive young literature professor, set out to write a critical appraisal of John Steinbeck, a writer who Benson felt was greatly undervalued by the scholarly establishment. To Benson's amazement, he shortly found his project turning into an authorized biography. Looking for Steinbeck's Ghost is Benson's account of his experiences over the fifteen years he devoted to writing that biography.".

"On one level, the book is a rich collection of anecdotes, character sketches, and memories of Steinbeck and the people with whom he shared his life - wives and children, siblings, friends. On another level, Looking for Steinbeck's Ghost is an account of the biographer's task, with all its triumphs large and small and its numerous pitfalls and frustrations. We follow Benson as he struggles to master the skills of the biographer to find out just who John Steinbeck was."--BOOK JACKET.