John Dos Passos was an American novelist and playwright who wrote during the early 20th century. He is best known for his U.S.A. trilogy, a series of three novels that chronicle the history of the United States from the 1890s to the 1930s. His other works include Manhattan Transfer and Three Soldiers. He was a member of the Lost Generation, a group of writers who lived in Paris during the 1920s. Dos Passos was also a political activist and a staunch critic of capitalism.