Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
Scholars believe that Steinbeck's wife was with him for a lot more of the trip than he lets on. Also, he stayed in a lot more hotels, including some fancy ones. (Source.)
Journalist Bill Steigerwald wrote a book fact-checking Steinbeck's story. (Source.)
Steigerwald's work resulted in Penguin Group and Steinbeck scholar Jay Parini revising the introduction so it more clearly calls out Charley as fiction. (Source.)