Part of a collection of letters from John Steinbeck to Alicia Patterson Guggenheim, written from New York and during his travels in Ireland, England, Israel in 1965-1966. Alicia Patterson Guggenheim was the editor and publisher of Newsday from 1940 until her death in 1963 and Steinbeck addressed his letter "not....to someone who is dead, but rather to a living mind and a huge curiosity" (see MA 2519.39). Steinbeck wrote the letters in this series as a weekly column for Newsday. Letters in the collection have been cataloged individually; see collection-level record for more information.
The majority of Steinbeck's letters in this collection were not dated; the date of writing has been cataloged using the date of publication in Newsday; this letter is dated February 16, 1966 and that date is used for this record; the date of publication in Newsday is March 19, 1966.
Written on yellow legal pad paper.
Discussing how his impressions of Israel have differed from his preconceived ideas of it before the visit; comparing the text of the Beatitudes with what he sees below him from the Mountain of the Beatitudes, overlooking the Sea of Galilee.