2006 wrote: Okay I think I have become rather adept at picking what to read, or i appreciate reading a lot more recently. Everything I am reading is a masterpiece, or close. I guess I shouldn't be surprised with Steinbeck, but I wish i had known this book existed years ago. Here an occupying force tries to coerce obedience so things go smoothly for a town. The occupying force's leader, a trained soldier, is convinced, because it is what he has been told that if everything can be done calmly and rationally, order can be kept. But the mayor of the town knows that no people will ever accept being occupied, it is a matter of time before rebellion. The characters are rich and wide-spread. The short stories within the story are poignant and ring true. Dialogue is masterful. A must-read in this time of war. It is a novel like this that every high school in America should cover.