Whose Names Are Unknown
by Sanora Babb · first published 2004
6mentions
2recommended by
5HN commenters
2021–2025first – last mentioned
40% recommend60% neutral
"This story centers on the fictional Dunne family as they struggle to survive and endure while never losing faith in themselves. In the Oklahoma Panhandle, Milt, Julia, their two little girls, and Milt's father, Konkie, share a life of cramped circumstances in a one-room dugout with never enough to eat. Yet buried in the drudgery of their everyday life are aspirations, failed dreams, and fleeting moments of hope. The land is their dream." "The Dunne family and the farmers around them fight desperately for the land they love, but the droughts of the thirties force them to abandon their fields.
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…e.g., _Kim_ by Rudyard Kipling should be paired w/ Robert Heinlein's _Citizen of the Galaxy_, or _The Grapes of Wrath_, which was cribbed from Sanora Babb's notes w/o permission should be paired w/ her _Whose Names Are Unknown_: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1197158.Whose_Names_Are_...
on “How to live an intellectually rich life” ↗I really like this idea. I didn't even know about Whose Names Are Unknown... added it to the queue.
on “How to live an intellectually rich life” ↗…William Souder Biography of Steinbeck that came out last year. Though it wasn't presented as a clear-cut case of plagiarism there were definitely questions. He'd apparently had access to her manuscript for "Whose Names are Unknown" and he and Babb were traveling the migrant worker camps in Central California working on stories for various publications. They did appear to cross paths. I've yet to read "Whose Names are Unknown" to…
on “John Steinbeck’s estate urged to let the world read his shunned werewolf novel” ↗…read presidential biographies to my kind in chronological order as a trial and regret not continuing with the actual project: biographies of important persons in chronological order - Sanora Babb's _Whose Names Are Unknown_: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1197158.Whose_Names_Are_... (ob. discl., that was my mention) Other books which only I mentioned: - Hal Clement _Space Lash_ now available in https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/939760.Music_of_Many_Sph...…
on “Show HN: Books mentioned on Hacker News in 2025” ↗…in 2004, 70 years later after its original completion in 1930s. I think Mr. Steinbeck probably deserve being stripped of his Nobel prize for this blatant misconduct. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whose_Names_Are_Unknown
on “John Steinbeck’s estate urged to let the world read his shunned werewolf novel” ↗…great use case for ChatGPT. I’ve used it for music explorations and found it surprisingly good at providing context and interesting suggestions. I tried your idea with The Grapes of Wrath and it surfaced Whose Names Are Unknown, with a thoughtful explanation. Obviously it’s qualitative, but you can shape the prompt to reflect your taste and still get some worthwhile discoveries. [1] https://chatgpt.com/share/68150654-bebc-8010-ad4b-050f5b39d4...
on “How to live an intellectually rich life” ↗