This classic story of a pair of unlikely friends is probably the most moving of Steinbeck's novels. A discerning comment on the loneliness and alienation of California's farm laborers in the 1930s, Of Mice and Men is also a gripping tale of one man's selfless love for another. Lenny, a lumbering hulk of a man with the mind of a child, and his caretaker and good friend, George, dream of owning a farm together. Now that they've landed a job on a vegetable farm in the Salinas Valley, the dream seems within their grasp. But the boss' son has a flirtatious wife, and guileless Lenny is no match for her. In a few fateful minutes alone with her, he dashes all hope of leading a normal life. And George must make the most difficult decision imaginable. Clarke Peters' powerful narration holds listeners captive in the delicate balance between lush prose and tense foreboding. This is one of those rare books that invariably touches your heart with every encounter.