John Roderigo Dos Passos (1896-1970) was an American novelist, painter, and member of the Lost Generation who came of age during World War I. His books include Manhattan Transfer, U.S.A. (The 42nd Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money), and Mr. Wilson's War. He is considered one of the leading novelists of his day and his pioneering works of nonlinear fiction exerted an enormous influence on the work of Jean-Paul Sartre, Mary McCarthy, and John Brunner, among others. By the time of his death in 1970 Dos Passos had written forty-two novels and numerous poems, essays, and plays, and created more than four hundred pieces of art.