
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 10, 1991                   TAG: 9102100293
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ENCINITAS, CALIF.                                LENGTH: Short

JOHN STEINBECK IV DIES AFTER SURGERY

John Steinbeck IV, a writer and son of the Nobel-winning author of "The Grapes of Wrath," has died of complications from back surgery. He was 44.

Steinbeck died Thursday at Scripps Memorial Hospital.

Steinbeck had been working on his autobiography, "Legacy," in which he intended to examine the genetics of chemical addiction and trace what he believed to be his father's alcoholism to his own.

The younger Steinbeck had been a recovering alcoholic for three years.

As a free-lance writer, he was published in many magazines, including The New Yorker. He wrote a non-fiction book, "In Touch," about his experiences in Vietnam, where he embraced the Buddhist philosophy.

At 18, Steinbeck was drafted into the Army and completed a tour in Vietnam, part of which he spent as a combat reporter for Armed Forces Radio.

by CNB