content: It is tragic that he isn't more celebrated. This is one of the best books I have ever read, because it works on so many levels: it is a wonderful pot-pourri of character portraits, it's a revealing examination of sociological values at work, and it is a marvelous literary work of a million subtle influences in harmony. It is, in short, a reflection of the motion-pictures that made their appearance at the time, and beyond that, is ripe with biblical allusions wonderfully entwined with the storyline. Dos Passos requires the reader to work, and he should be given more credit for making us do so with so much satisfaction.