Overview

""This absorbing biography, written with both affection and admiration, shows Babb as one of the most indefatigable characters in American literary history.""—The New Republic This saga of a writer done dirty resurrects the silenced voice of Sanora Babb, peerless author of midcentury American literature. In 1939, when John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath was published, it became an instant bestseller and a prevailing narrative in the nation's collective imagination of the era. But it also stopped the publication of another important novel, silencing a gifted writer who was more intimately connected to the true experiences of Dust Bowl migrants. In Riding Like the Wind, renowned biographer Iris Jamahl Dunkle revives the groundbreaking voice of Sanora Babb. Dunkle follows Babb from her impoverished childhood in eastern Colorado to California. There, she befriended the era's literati, including Ray Bradbury and Ralph Ellison; entered into an illegal marriage; and was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee. It was Babb's field notes and oral histories of migrant farmworkers that Steinbeck relied on to write his novel. But this is not merely a saga of literary usurping; on her own merits, Babb's impact was profound. Her life and work feature heavily in Ken Burns's award-winning documentary The Dust Bowl and inspired Kristin Hannah in her bestseller The Four Winds. Riding Like the Wind reminds us with fresh awareness that the stories we know—and who tells them—can change the way we remember history.

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9780520430785

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Reviews

""A well-researched, empathetic biography."" * Kirkus Reviews * ""Many are familiar with The Grapes of Wrath, but few know the author whose work was overshadowed by its publication: Sanora Babb. In Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb, Dunkle examines this fascinating midcentury American, whose meticulous notes and research formed the basis of John Steinbeck’s novel.” * Alta * “Dunkle’s book may help elevate Babb’s status, not simply because it so thoroughly explores the Steinbeck affair but because it succeeds at doing what all good literary biographies do: It makes a case for reading old writing in new ways.” * The Atlantic * “As a biographer, Iris Jamahl Dunkle has made it a calling to unearth the ‘lost voices’ of history and literature — talented, creative and accomplished women whose contributions have been underplayed, overlooked, suppressed and in some cases, ripped off.” * Press Democrat * “By digging deeper, Dunkle uncovers a remarkable rebel — a woman who challenged social and political norms to defend her writing. She illuminates yet another woman forgotten in the annals of literary history. This biography not only revives a vital voice but reminds us of the many stories still buried in the past, ones that deserve to be dug up and told.” * San Francisco Chronicle * ""In contrast to the door-stopping volumes many contemporary biographers favor, Dunkle’s judicious account of Babb’s eventful life focuses on key experiences and relationships in a brisk text with plenty of meat and no fat. Babb comes across as a fiercely independent free spirit, loyal to those she loved. Riding Like the Wind is a welcome addition to the growing shelf of books devoted to enriching the literary canon with more voices and different points of view.” * The Washington Post * “Who it’s for: Steinbeck fans and haters alike; readers of Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds and the New York Times Overlooked column; anyone interested in learning more about the Dust Bowl migrants who fled to California hoping for a better life.” * The Millions * “An exhaustively researched biography.” * New York Times * ""Iris Jamahl Dunkle’s excellent new biography of Babb tells the story of the largely forgotten writer, and Steinbeck has nothing to do with many of the most gripping chapters, which show how Babb’s destitute heartland childhood shaped her keen empathy."" * ARTS * ""Writing in fits and starts, being both ahead of her time and told she was 'too late,' Babb perhaps worked against the wind more than she was able to 'ride' it. Yet the recovery of her extraordinary life and career, though long overdue, may at last allow us to say: Babb’s time is now."" * Los Angeles Review of Books * ""Iris Jamahl Dunkle’s compassionate and respectful biography, Riding Like the Wind, . . . is filled with tales of a life that was lived to almost tall-tale proportions."" * The New Republic * ""This biography revisits the remarkable life of an author whose account of the Great Depression might have been seminal — if John Steinbeck hadn’t barely beaten her to it. But that hardly scratches the surface of a colorful history that also included friendships and affairs with literary luminaries."" * The Washington Post, 50 notable works of nonfiction from 2024 * “A well-researched saga of a woman with deep commitments and unmistakable talent.” * Nob Hill Gazette * “Iris Jamahl Dunkle’s biography is not merely a kind of restitution but a thrilling recovery of Babb and the world she portrayed so convincingly in her novels, stories, and poetry.” * The New York Sun * “This is a fascinating study of the life of a colorful, unconventional American writer. Sanora Babb should be more widely appreciated, indeed, and Iris Jamahl Dunkle’s Riding Like the Wind may spur that appreciation.” * North of Oxford * “This book has really stuck with me. The imagery that Iris Jamahl Dunkle colors the book with is outstanding, and Sanora Babb’s life was so fascinating. This one had me reading like the wind, if you’ll pardon a pun I’m sure 10,000 other reviewers made.” * Unruly Figures * “Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb is the accomplishment of a fluent and vivid author who weaves a compelling tapestry of family history, the story of a complicated marriage, the repeated frustration of artistic aspirations, and a multi-decade devotion to the Communist movement.                    Marked by an adept command of language and a desire to probe intimate biographical matters with depth and sensitivity, Dunkle’s engaging account blends archival and literary material in a well-spun narrative tuned to a general audience.” * Against the Current * “Marked by an adept command of language and a desire to probe intimate biographical matters with depth and sensitivity, Dunkle’s engaging account blends archival and literary material in a well-spun narrative tuned to a general audience.” * Against the Current * “In this beautifully written biography, Dunkle, an award-winning biographer, essayist, and poet, explores the life and legacy of writer Sanora Babb. . . . Dunkle reconstructs the journey of a woman born in Red Rock, Oklahoma, to Eastern Colorado and eventually to California . . . Her work and life in the years that followed drew on some of these early experiences and shaped generations of readers.” * CHOICE *

Author Information

Iris Jamahl Dunkle is an award-winning biographer, essayist, and poet. Her previous titles include the biography Charmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, Adventurer and the poetry collection West : Fire : Archive.

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