{"product_id":"riding-like-the-wind-the-life-of-sanora-babb-9780520430785","title":"Riding Like the Wind: The Life of Sanora Babb","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e Bestseller \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"This absorbing biography, written with both affection and admiration, shows Babb as one of the most indefatigable characters in American literary history.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis saga of a writer done dirty resurrects the silenced voice of Sanora Babb, peerless author of midcentury American literature. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In 1939, when John Steinbeck's \u003ci\u003eThe Grapes of Wrath \u003c\/i\u003ewas published\u003ci\u003e, \u003c\/i\u003eit 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 \u003ci\u003eRiding Like the Wind\u003c\/i\u003e, renowned biographer Iris Jamahl Dunkle revives the groundbreaking voice of Sanora Babb. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e 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 \u003ci\u003eThe Dust Bowl\u003c\/i\u003e and inspired Kristin Hannah in her bestseller \u003ci\u003eThe \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eFour Winds\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003ci\u003eRiding Like the Wind\u003c\/i\u003e reminds us with fresh awareness that the stories we know--and who tells them--can change the way we remember history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIris Jamahl Dunkle\u003c\/b\u003e is an award-winning biographer, essayist, and poet. Her previous titles include the biography \u003ci\u003eCharmian Kittredge London: Trailblazer, Author, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eAdventurer\u003c\/i\u003e and the poetry collection \u003ci\u003eWest: Fire: Archive\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of California Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52160364380434,"sku":"9780520430785","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_df826732-1ef4-4d34-9ad3-65943921a9d1.jpg?v=1775055671","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/riding-like-the-wind-the-life-of-sanora-babb-9780520430785","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}