Travel Books and other Writings

Resumen del libro

During the years of his emergence as a major American novelist, John Dos Passos traveled widely in Europe, the Middle East, Mexico, and the United States, witnessing many of the tumultuous political, social, and cultural events of the early 20th century and recording his changing response to them. This Library of America volume collects the vibrant and insightful travel books and essays he wrote at the same time he was publishing his fictional masterpieces Three Soldiers, Manhattan Transfer, and U.S.A.

Rosinante to the Road Again (1922) is a vivid collection of essays on Spanish life, literature, and art that demonstrates Dos Passos's enduring fascination with a country he would repeatedly visit and write about. Orient Express (1927) records his 1921 22 journey through the Middle East, and contains provocative and haunting descriptions of the effects of the Greek-Turkish War; the Caucasus in the aftermath of Soviet conquest; Persia during the rise of Reza Khan; the creation of Iraq by the British; and a winter trip by camel caravan across the desert from Baghdad to Damascus. In All Countries (1934) collects pieces on Russia in the late 1920s, Mexico in the aftermath of Zapata, the troubled Spanish Republic, and strikes and protests in the United States, while articles that appeared in Journeys Between Wars (1938) examine France under the Popular Front and the Spanish Civil War.

Also included are A Pushcart at the Curb (1922), a cycle of poems inspired by his travels; nine political and literary essays written between 1916 and 1941, including his denunciation of the execution of his friend José Robles by Spanish Communists; and a selection of letters and diary entries from 1916 to 1920 that record his wartime service as an ambulance driver in France and Italy.

Biografía del autor

John Dos Passos nació en Chicago en 1896 en el seno de una familia de origen portugués gracias a la cual viajó durante su infancia por países como México, Bélgica e Inglaterra. De regreso a Estados Unidos estudió en la Universidad de Harvard entre 1912 y 1916. Tras acabar sus estudios, se marchó a España para estudiar la arquitectura hispanomusulmana, viaje que plasmó en Rocinante vuelve al camino (1922). En Europa participó en la Primera Guerra Mundial como conductor de ambulancias, experiencia que dejó huella en su personalidad y su obra. Entre sus libros destacan Manhattan Transfer y los títulos agrupados en la llamada Trilogía USA (El paralelo 42, 1919 y El gran dinero) y en su otra trilogía, Distrito de Columbia (Hombre joven a la aventura, El número uno y El gran proyecto). Murió en Baltimore en 1970.