Indeed, this is "the great American novel"--so far. It is certainly far and away the best I have ever encountered and, yes, I suffered through Melville's opus about fishing. Very few times have I finished a novel of well over a thousand pages and strongly regretted that there was no more. The only other instance that comes to mind is Thomas Mann's Joseph and His Brothers.

As a course in American history, U.S.A. is strongly recommended to anyone who has done the basic, high school level coursework but wants to actually get the feel of the nation from about 1900 to the Depression--and not just the feel of one character, one region or one class, but a panoramic picture of the messy, struggling whole.

It is to be noted that Dos Passos went on to write a number of history texts, informed, one presumes, by the research that went into this trilogy.

This big trilogy was a show stopper for me. I actually listened to the unabridged audio editions, and recommend those highly, although I dipped into my print copy occasionally to check up on characters I'd lost track of, and also to see exactly what was going on in "the Camera Eye" and "Newsreel" sections, which I loved. In comparison, I find the audio easier, and more delightful--as the narrator actually breaks into song when Dos Passos throws out snatches of contemporary lyric. Wonderful! Also, it is easier to follow stream of consciousness writing as it is read aloud, than to piece it together in print. The short bios are wonderful--refreshing and informative. The whole experience from beginning to end is like climbing right into a time machine and traveling around a very wide territory with a dispassionate but humorous tour guide. There are some wonderful reviews of this book and its experimental nature. I only wish to say that this classic is a true delight that shouldn't be missed. Dos Passos has a way of capturing the voice of the people, even if that voice is not saying delightful or profound things all the time. It adds up to a picture of a people and a time--which is the point. I don't think any history book can convey the early part of 20th century America in quite the same way. Naturally this is very much a book of its time, written in the 30s about the previous 3 decades--the slang, pejorative terms, habits of our forbears are sometimes jarring and unexpected. This is a book where it wasn't important for me to really like the various characters. Most all of them have a sorry outcome, often of their own making. They do have continuing threads that weave in and out of the trilogy, but the big character is America itself--USA--and the time period. There is a war, strikes, capital, labor, workers, lots of booze and prohibition...the time is full of people from the great to the small, but it is the time and the movement of the characters that is the real drama. The newsreels are used to great effect in this regard.

Attempting to tackle Dos Passos' U.S.A. trilogy in one week, Thanksgiving week, nonetheless, was quite a challenge and has put my "book a week" schedule a tad behind, however, this phenomenal masterpiece (yes, I am singing its praises) was worth the eyestrain and resulting bloodshot eyes.
I wrestled with the idea of giving the 1200+ page tome three weeks reading time since U.S.A. consists of three novels; The 42nd Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money, however, since Modern Library listed it singly and it was highly recommended to read as one, I held myself to task.
U.S.A. takes the reader from the east to the west with stops in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and on to Fargo, North Dakota and out to Hollywood, California. Contrary to its title, there are also tales set in Paris, France, Italy and Cuba.
Dos Passos manages to cover an array of subjects including social inequality, sexual promiscuity, abortion, suicide, prohibition, the stock market and more without haranguing the reader.
There are twelve central characters in U.S.A., all introduced as children and we see them leave home and attempt to find their way in the U.S.A. as they deal with love and betrayal, birth and death, purpose and loneliness. While some of the characters and stories are interwoven, there are not always neat and happy endings. In fact, some characters are hinted to be in failing health, yet we don't get the answers to our speculations.
I was not so crazy about some of the little extras in the book; Newsreel listed actual headlines from the time period, Camera Eye was stream of consciousness (not my cup of tea) said to be autobiographical, and Bios of actual figures from the time. Although relevant, the sheer volume of the trilogy made it difficult to appreciate the additional text.
Charley Anderson is a mechanic who makes it big, yet struggles with fitting in and turns to alcohol which eventually has devastating consequences.
Margo Dowling is a tenacious gal who faces obstacles from the very start, when her mother dies in childbirth and her father turns to booze. Her stepmother remarries a cad who rapes her and she flees with a Cuban who is an drug addicted homosexual, but she eventually makes it to Hollywood and becomes a star, albeit, short-lived once the silent movies are given "voice".
Someone should make this into a mini-series! I'm sure people would get hooked on the story lines and lovable and loathsome characters and hopefully be compelled to read the book.
I would love, love, love to spend some time with Mr. Dos Passos. He most certainly could tell some wonderful tales and I'd love to hear about his travels throughout the world. If he were to share his expertise with crafting both dialogue and descriptives, I would be in heaven.
My rating for U.S.A. is a 10 out of 10.