Dos Passos

by Virginia Spencer Carr, Donald Pizer (Foreword)

A New York Times Notable Book

An intimate biography of a great American writer.

He rose from a childhood as the illegitimate son of a financial titan to become the man Sartre called "the greatest writer of our time." A progressive writer who turned his passions into the groundbreaking U.S.A. trilogy, John Dos Passos later embraced conservative causes. At the height of his career he was considered a peer of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, yet he died in obscurity in 1970.

Award-winning biographer Virginia Spencer Carr examines the contradictions of Dos Passos's life with an in-depth study of the man. Using the writer's letters and journals, and with assistance from the Dos Passos family, Carr reconstructs an epic life, one of literary acclaim and bitter obscurity, restless wandering and happy marriage, friendship with Edmund Wilson and feuds with Hemingway. First published to acclaim in 1984, Dos Passos remains the definitive personal portrait of the author.

Genres: Biography

688 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Virginia Spencer Carr (July 21, 1929 – April 10, 2012) was an award-winning biographer of Carson McCullers, John Dos Passos and Paul Bowles.

Carr was also a college professor for more than 25 years at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia, and Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Reviews

[Andrea]

This was a comprehensive and compelling bio of Dos Passos. Super important read for anyone interested in his life and work....also a surprisingly sweet love story.

[Chris Schaffer]

While Dos Passos certainly had an interesting life, much of the book focuses on his being perpetually broke. I liked the Townsend Luddington book better although I think Carr's book does a better job in chronicling Dos's early years.