By: Brooke Wehar passos-three-soldiers/

 Born John Roderigo Dos Pasos on Jan in Chicago, IL.  Father was a wealthy lawyer of Portuguese descent.  Attended private school in Wallingford, CT.  Had a private tutor that toured Europe and the Middle East with him.

 Graduated from Harvard in 1916  Studied in Spain during  Joined U.S. Medical Corps and drove ambulances in France in  Demobilized in 1919 but stayed in Europe to finish several works.  Worked as a newspaper correspondent in the 1920s.

 This job changed his social perceptions, taught him more about history, and made his beliefs more radical.  Shocked by this and his war experience, Dos Passos reflected his shock through his early works.  The first of his novels, One Man’s Initiation was published in 1917.

 Considered Dos Passos’ first “significant novel.”  Bitter and ironic view of why World War I was fought.  Explores the values of modern men.  Shows the army as the true enemy.  Considered a strong piece of anti-World War I literature. paperback/wapi/ ?download=true&type=1

 Published while Dos Passos lived in New York.  First and only selection of poetry.  Expressed rage for the executions of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. M/A_pushcart_at_the_curb.

 Experimental novel.  Set in New York.  Portrays negativities of contemporary urban life such as fires, crime, and suicide. php?pcode=passos02

 Rosinante to the Road Again,  Orient Express,  Written impressionistically. 9M/Rosinante_to_the_road_again. express-spanish-edition

 Considered the greatest works of Dos Passos.  Includes The 42 nd Parallel (1930), 1919 (1932), and The Big Money (1936).  Used narratives that intersected and continued from one book to the next.  Used a panoramic view of society created through his social observation.  Considered a “modern classic.”

 Visited Spain in  This changed his political ideas.  The new political views were conveyed in The Adventures of a Young Man (1939) and Number One (1943).  Campaigned for Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon.

 Novels include The Grand Design (1949), Chosen Country (1951) and Midcentury (1961).  A biography on Thomas Jefferson, The Head and Heart of Thomas Jefferson (1954).  An autobiography entitled The Best of Times: An Informal Memoir (1966).  Also wrote several plays.

 Was in a car accident in 1947 that killed his wife and ruined one of his eyes.  Remarried in  Wrote reports and fiction during the 1950s.  Died in Baltimore on September 28, 1970.

 Simkin, John. "John Dos Passos Biography." Spartacus Educational.  "John Dos Passos." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.,  "John Roderigo Dos Passos." BookRags..  "John Dos Passos U.S.A.." The Library of America. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar  "John Dos Passos " Harvard Square Library, Web. 29 Mar 2012.