Of Mice and Men is a novella by Nobel Prize winning author John Steinbeck, first published in 1937, which tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced Anglo migrant ranch workers in California during the Great Depression.

Based on Steinbeck's own experience as a bindle stiff in the 1920s (before the arrival of the Okies he would vividly describe in The Grapes of Wrath), the title is taken from Robert Burns's famous poem, To a Mouse, which is often quoted as: "The best-laid plans of mice and men go oft awry." Though it remains required reading in many American, Australian, British, New Zealand and Canadian high schools, Of Mice and Men has been the frequent target of censors for what some consider "offensive" and "vulgar" language, and appears on the American Library Association's list of the Most Challenged Books of 21st Century.

约翰•斯坦贝克（John Steinbeck, 1902-1968）,美国文学家，1962年获诺贝尔文学奖。

一生共创作27部作品，其中包括喜剧小说《罐头厂街》，跨类型作品《伊甸之东》，普利策奖获奖作品《愤怒的葡萄》，旅行作品《横越美国》等。

斯坦贝克是地位崇高的文学大 师，也是最受美国民众喜爱的畅销作家。他1968年过世之后，作品每年仍持续卖出两百万册，累计迄今已将近一亿册，其中超过半数是《愤怒的葡萄》《人鼠之间》这两部代表作。

斯坦贝克之所以深受美国人民欢迎，主要是因为他描写的人物正是最基层的社会大众。他刻画出他们面对困境时所展现出来的人性光辉：善良，同情，以及为生存而奋斗的勇气。

《人鼠之间》是美国中学10部必读经典之一，可谓一部真正的文学经典。