Grateful American Book Prize

Patriotic Pick for October 2019

Patriotic Picks

Maggie-Now, Of Mice and Men and Mama’s Bank Account

Maggie-Now by Betty Smith; Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck; Mama’s Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes

Whether it’s via their tone, topic, or tenor, certain works just say “America.” Here are three such titles, suggested by David Bruce Smith, founder of the Grateful American™ Foundation, in partnership with the Washington Independent Review of Books.

  • Maggie-Now by Betty Smith. From the author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn comes this story of a young woman struggling to navigate men, a career, and an unquenchable desire to make her own way in the world.
  • Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Quick-witted George and simple-minded Lennie companionably eke out a living on hardscrabble California farms. But a tragedy soon unfolds that forces one man to commit an unthinkable act.
  • Mama’s Bank Account by Kathryn Forbes. This inspiration for the classic TV show “I Remember Mama” chronicles the triumphs and trials of a Norwegian-American family in early-20th-century San Francisco.

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